Allegations of Harassment
In 2011, a six-month investigation by the Boston Globe disclosed allegations from one adult woman who was coached as a girl by Hewitt's assistant coach. The investigation was prompted by the revelations of a former student in March 2011, She claimed that, beginning in the 1970s, Hewitt abused or harassed her when she was as young as ten years old. Interviews with contemporaries, in the United States and South Africa, indicated that there had been no rumors about misconduct by Hewitt at the time of the alleged events. The South African Tennis Union investigated after 1992, but no legal action was ever taken against Hewitt.
The International Tennis Hall of Fame has formed a committee to review the sexual abuse allegations along with requests for his removal from the Hall. The Boston Globe's investigation and report of the victim has prompted the request and was followed up by a letter signed by his alleged victim asking for his removal from the Hall of Fame. To date no action has been taken. A November 2011 investigative piece by Mary Carillo of HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel includes interviews with the alleged victim and others who claim that Hewitt abused them. Hewitt did not agree to be interviewed for the piece.
In 2012, Hewitt's one-time doubles partner Billie Jean King spoke to the Washingtonian, reportedly saying "I don’t feel this accusation is right. I played mixed with him. We won the French Open together in 1970. I’m not happy. I am very upset." Mark Stenning from the Tennis Hall of Fame confirmed that an investigation had been opened.
On November 15, 2012, after months of investigation in the claims and allegations that he sexually abused girls he coached, Hewitt was suspended of his accolade in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. "His legacy ceases to exist in the Hall of Fame," said Mark Stenning, executive director of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. "As of today, his plaque will be removed from the Hall of Fame. His name will be removed from our website and all other materials, and from the perspective of the Hall of Fame, he is suspended from the Hall of Famer."
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