Tennis players are well known to lose their temper from time to time with umpires. It seems that one US Open official lost all control away from the court and has been accused of murdering her husband. With a coffee mug.
Lois Goodman has been arrested while preparing for the US Open, where qualifying matches are underway ahead of the first round next week. The 70 year-old, who has been officiating since 1979, has been accused of murdering her husband Alan in April of this year.
Ten years her senior, Goodman was found unresponsive in his bed when police came to the house to investigate. Lois had been out refereeing, and thought her husband must have fallen down the stairs after having a heart attack and subsequently managed to get upstairs to bed.
Police were suspicious from the outset, with a broken coffee mug found at the scene, sharp injuries to his body, and an amount of blood that did not suggest a fall.
Goodman was about to begin work for the qualifying rounds, and prosecutors have said they will ask for a $1 million bail.
Players may think twice before berating an umpire over a call at Flushing Meadows after this.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
