Serena Williams sparked controversy with her opinion about the Steubenville rape case, tellingRolling Stone, in their July issue, that the 16-year-old victim "shouldn't have put herself in that position."

Williams, a grand slam tennis champion, made the remarks to Rolling Stone contributor Stephen Rodrick after they watched a television segment about the case.

Trent Mays and Ma'lik Richmond were found guilty in March of raping a female friend while she was drunk and passed out at a party in Steubenville, Ohio in August 2012. The attack was captured on video and posted online. The football players were also convicted of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, according to The Huffington Post. They will serve their sentence at a juvenile detention facility until they turn 21. Their sentence after then has not been confirmed by reports.

Williams seemingly expressed sympathy for Mays, 17, and Richmond, 16, and condemned the victim for not knowing better.

"Do you think it was fair, what they got?" William asked. "They did something stupid, but I don't know. I'm not blaming the girl, but if you're a 16-year-old and you're drunk like that, your parents should teach you: Don't take drinks from other people."

The 31-year-old French Open champion continued her critique of the 16-year-old. She questioned whether the teenager was a virgin at the time of the sexual assault. Williams also declared that the victim was lucky.

"She's 16, why was she that drunk where she doesn't remember?" Williams said. "It could have been much worse. She's lucky. Obviously, I don't know, maybe she wasn't a virgin, but she shouldn't have put herself in that position, unless they slipped her something, then that's different."

Twitter reacted with scorn over what they believed to be victim blaming.


Williams is currently in England preparing for Wimbledon. Neither she or her representatives have responded to the backlash.

Tags: Serena Williams Steubenville Rape Case