“It was not a setup, it was not staged" - When radio host Jim Rome angered NFL star Jim Everett by repeatedly referring to him as Chris Evert

Veteran radio host Jim Rome looked back at one of his infamous talk show episodes on ESPN involving former NFL star Jim Everett when Rome repeatedly called him Chris in a reference to female tennis star Chris Evert.

Evert dominated the tennis scene in the 1990s, winning an impeccable 18 Grand Slam titles and being the cynosure of all eyes in that era.

Rome, in a talk show on ESPN2, repeatedly called the former American footballer Jim Everett as Chris Evert. Although Everett wasn't impressed with Rome addressing him as "Chris," he protested calmly. With Rome not budging a bit, Everett lost his cool and lunged at Rome.

The talk show was abruptly halted as Everett, a tall man of more than 6 ft 5in height, flipped the center table and got into a scuffle with Rome as the broadcasters soon cut to a commercial.

“It was not a setup. It was not staged. I did not want that to be my whole career,” expressed a regretful Rome on that incident. “However, I did it. It was my fault. I own it. It’s a part of who I am," Rome went on to say later in another show.

He said he was looking for a chance to clear the air with Everett but never got an appropriate opportunity.

“He and I have never spoken since. For 10 years, I tried to redo the interview. For 10 years I wanted closure. And he always said, ‘No, man. I don’t need that.’ And I finally stopped asking," Rome added.

Rome had an edgy on-air persona and often ran into confrontations with many guests on his show with his brash demeanor and blunt criticism.

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Chris Evert paved way for many girls to pick tennis as profession

Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. (PC - Getty Images)

Chris Evert was one of tennis' path breakers who motivated many kids, especially girls, to pick up the sport as a profession. It is something she is proud of, she stated on the 'Design Matters with Debbie Millman' podcast.

Evert feels that she motivated young girls to become tennis players and not care about their physicalities. Calling herself a "taboo," she revealed that when she made her debut, it was considered unattractive for girls to have muscles.

She was also involved in a great on-court rivalry with Martina Navratilova. Their rivalries would go down in the annals of tennis as one of the most fiercely contested ones, which ended with Navratilova winning more matches than Evert across their 80 career meetings.