Infantile Shock Jock Harasses Jennifer Capriati With On-Air Questions

Jennifer Capriati, the 33-year-old retired tennis player who won three Grand Slam events, headlined a Wimbeldon event in New York City with Jim Courier this past week. Thus, when she was invited to appear on WFAN's 'Boomer and Carton' radio show in New York, she probably assumed the line of questioning would involve Wimbledon, her tennis career or the event.

Silly her. Capriati obviously didn't know the reputation of Craig Carton, the co-host opposite former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason. Carton plays the role of a sex-mongering 14-year-old any chance he gets, and his jabbing at all things sexual with Capriati was no different.

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Then: Jennifer Capriati, Tennis | Accomplishments: A winner of three Grand Slam titles (2001-2002), and an Olympic gold medal winner in 1992, she soared to celebrity status by turning pro three weeks shy of her 14th birthday. Click through to see Capriati more recently and other female sports icons then and now.

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Now: Capriati, who burned out on tennis and battled depression, last played on the pro tour in 2004. She underwent her third surgery on a shoulder in 2007, but has not ruled out playing again. Capriati can be seen on the ABC television reality series 'The Superstars'.

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Then: Andrea Jaeger, Tennis | Accomplishments: As a teenager in the early 1980s, tennis phenom Andrea Jaeger reached the finals of two major tournaments and reached No. 2 in the world rankings.

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Now: Jaeger became Sister Andrea, an Anglican Dominican nun, in 2006. She has devoted herself to helping kids with cancer and raises money to bring them to a Colorado ranch.

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Then: Anna Kournikova, Tennis | Accomplishments: Kournikova was ranked eighth in the world in 2000, but the Russian tennis star never won a singles tournament and her popularity was based as much on her looks as her play.

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Now: Kournikova, seen here at a Boys and Girls Club function recently, is less concerned about her sex appeal now at age 27 and is driven to get kids to be more active.

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Then: Nancy Kerrigan, Figure Skating | Accomplishments: The silver medal winner of the 1994 Winter Olympics, she will forever be linked to rival Tonya Harding. Kerrigan was clubbed on the knee by a man hired by Harding's husband in an attempt to secure a place on the Olympic team for Harding.

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Now: Her Nancy Kerrigan Foundation raises awareness and support for the vision impaired. She gave birth to her third child by husband Jerry Solomon in May 2008.

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Then: Summer Sanders, Swimming | Accomplishments: She led Stanford to the national championship in 1992 and then went on to win two gold medals in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

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Now: She is married to former Olympic skier Erik Schlopy and she gave birth to their second child in January 2008.

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After blatantly asking Capriati to have sex with him, Carton moved on to Joanna Krupa -- the Polish gal who recently took Terrell Owens to task for what she deemed a lackluster performance on Superstars (Capriati is also a contestant on the show). With thanks to The Sporting Blog, here's a quick transcript:

Carton: "Not that you're not hot, but you're no Joanna Krupa. How hot was she?"
Capriati: [Uncomfortable laugh] Uhhh, you know, not bad, not bad.
Carton: Would you ever get it on with a gal like that, or no?
Capriati: [Uncomfortable laugh] What kind of questions are these, man?
Carton: I only ask because she's a beautiful woman.
Capriati: [Uncomfortable laugh]
Carton: And I don't know about your sexuality, it's irrelevant to me, whether you like women or men or both ...
Boomer: Now come on ...
Carton: But as a single woman, you appreciate that Joanna Krupa's gorgeous, right?
Capriati: I appreciate beauty. Yes. Her personality was great too.
Carton: Great, so I don't know if you drink beer or if you're totally on the wagon with everything, but is there any moment where you could see you and Joanna maybe getting it on, or no way?
Capriati: No, no way.
Carton: You like men, yes?
Capriati: Yes.
Carton: Dammit.

OK, Craig. You aren't Howard Stern. In fact, Stern would at least find a way to be funny and engaging. This is just contrived eighth-grade nonsense. It requires no comedic talent or creativity. You could grab any buffoon off a street corner and tell him to sexually pester a public figure on the airwaves. The result would be the same.

I would say more, but there's a pretty thorough beatdown of Carton by Phil Mushnick in the New York Post. No reason to pile on when everything that needs to be said is already in print.

The bottom line is that "shock jock" should be a term reserved for people like Stern with some actual talent -- not someone desperately trying to be relevant with an already-saturated act.