John McEnroe
John McEnroe invites Graham to both his tennis academy and art gallery in New York City to discuss those passions and reflect on his reputations as both a tennis superstar and a short-tempered bad boy in the sport. McEnroe shares stories of his rise to stardom, his love-hate relationship with anger and coping with the 2017 deaths of both parents. Plus, the tennis star turned TV personality talks of his fondest memories as a commentator and what life might be like once the celebrity spotlight fades.
John McEnroe
EPISODES
John McEnroe: Giving back to NYC tennis, despite USTA
Tennis legend John McEnroe shows off and discusses his tennis academy in New York City, including his efforts to personally spearhead the project, despite a lack of support from the United States Tennis Association (USTA).
John McEnroe: Telling Nike I hated “Just Do It”
John McEnroe details his relationship over the decades with Nike co-founder, Phil Knight, including Knight’s encouragement of McEnroe’s on-the-court intensity and McEnroe discouraging Nike to push “Just Do It” as a brand slogan.
John McEnroe: My best work is when I shut up
Tennis legend turned broadcast commentator John McEnroe shares how he uniquely negotiated himself into a position to work for competing broadcast networks, his distaste for wasting energy rehearsing and why less is more during pivotal points.
John McEnroe: Trump offered $1 million to play Serena Williams
John McEnroe shares the story of Donald Trump’s $1 million offer to compete against Serena or Venus Williams, plus his thoughts on the hypothetical outcome of the match and his involuntary place as “the fall guy” for the gender debate.
John McEnroe: Bjorn Borg made me better
John McEnroe looks back on an illustrious tennis career as one of the most decorated players ever and opens up about the mentality behind some of his career highlights, including landing a spot atop the world tennis rankings. McEnroe also shares the mindset when losing his greatest competitor in Bjorn Borg and regrets for not investing more time and energy towards winning The French Open.
John McEnroe: Jimmy Connors is a complete a-hole
John McEnroe explains why he respects, but doesn’t like Jimmy Connors, including stories ranging from their first meeting at Wimbledon to Connors walking off the court during their match on the seniors tour.
John McEnroe: My parents died within months
John McEnroe looks back on a privileged upbringing with parents who pushed him towards tennis and academics. The tennis star also somberly discusses struggles coming to grips with the deaths of both his mother and father in 2017 and how their passing has served as a reminder to stop and smell the roses.
John McEnroe on parenting six kids
John McEnroe on his approach to parenting six kids, which he calls life’s biggest challenge and reward. The tennis star talks of encouraging his kids to stay away from tennis and trying to find the sweet spot of how much to push them to succeed.
John McEnroe: Anger became an addiction
John McEnroe recalls a couple anger-fueled incidents from his pro tennis career and reflects more broadly on the benefits both of anger and anger management therapy.
John McEnroe: Losing my wife and my edge
Tennis great John McEnroe reflects on his pro tennis career, including maximizing his potential for success, the questions that arise from taking time off and hard times as the ending of his pro career coincided with a failing marriage.
John McEnroe: How will I react to fading spotlight?
John McEnroe offers an introspective look into life as a famous athletes and celebrity for decades, his “love” for tennis and distaste for “heinous” paparazzi.
John McEnroe on Madonna and Sean Penn marriage
John McEnroe shares a few music-centric stories, including Madonna and Sean Penn’s volatile marriage, Paul McCartney’s excellence and McEnroe’s love for music, despite a lack of talent.
John McEnroe: Wife offered me 2nd lease on life
John McEnroe talks about his wife – singer and songwriter, Patty Smyth. McEnroe says he was lucky to meet Patty – especially at a time in his life when he wasn’t looking for anything serious – and explains why their relationship works.
John McEnroe: Refusing $1 million to play in South Africa
John McEnroe looks back on the $1 million offer he received to play Bjorn Borg in South Africa during apartheid, and why refusing the offer was one of the best decisions he’s made. McEnroe also talks of meeting Nelson Mandela and says the former president was like an angel on Earth.
John McEnroe: Tour of my art gallery
Tennis legend John McEnroe offers a tour of his art gallery in Manhattan and shares stories of his run-ins with Andy Warhol. McEnroe discusses the most interesting aspects of several pieces in his collection, which includes works by Yayoi Kusama, Henry Darger and Glenn Ligon.
John McEnroe: Shia LaBeouf movie disappointing
John McEnroe answer questions from our YouTube fans, including his thoughts on Shia LaBeouf’s portrayal of McEnroe in the sports drama “Borg vs. McEnroe,” cheat meals during his pro tennis career and throwing out the first pitch at Citi Field.
