WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Tennis star Venus Williams testified Wednesday that her father, Richard Williams, played a role in negotiating endorsement deals when she was a young rising star but could not commit her to play in a proposed "Battle of the Sexes" match in 2001 against male tennis players. "I sign my own agreements. I make my own decisions. No one can for me," Venus Williams testified, noting with a laugh that her father didn't even know beforehand that she planned to move out of her parents' home six years ago. "He didn't know anything about it," she said. Venus Williams, her sister Serena and their father are defendants in a lawsuit contending that Richard Williams committed them to playing in the proposed "Battle of the Sexes" tournament. The lawsuit, seeking unspecified damages, accuses the Williams family of breach of contract.

The tournament was being promoted by Carol Clarke and Keith Rhodes, owners of a company called CCKR. They said that the tournament could have made about $45 million, of which 80 percent was to go to Richard Williams Tennis & Associates, which is owned by the sisters' father. In her testimony, Venus Williams acknowledged that her father was present during negotiations for some of her early endorsement contracts shortly after she turned pro at 14. But she said she was also represented by an attorney and a financial adviser during some of those deals. "He's my dad first, more than anything," Venus Williams said.

Serena Williams testified Tuesday that she also insisted on signing her own agreements and that her father was not authorized to do so. She sat quietly through Wednesday's court session, frequently tapping on one of the matching silver laptops that she and Venus brought to court. Later in the day Richard Williams testified that his company initially had contracts with his two daughters paying him at least $500,000 combined to be their tennis coach. He said his presence at endorsement deal negotiating sessions on Venus' behalf was not to act as her business manager. "I was there as Venus' father, and that was the only reason I was there," he said.

Through his lawyers, Richard Williams has acknowledged drawing up the terms of a potential contract for the "Battle of the Sexes" event for Clarke and Rhodes. But he also insists that he always told them to go through the IMG sports agency, which has represented Venus and Serena since 1999. Richard Williams insisted in his testimony that he never represented himself as his daughters' manager and, emphatically raising his voice, he said, "To me, a dad is somebody who looks out for the best interests of their kids. I am their dad."

But attorneys for Clarke and Rhodes also played a videotape for the jury in which Richard Williams and Clarke are depicted discussing details of the proposed "Battle of the Sexes" event. Richard Williams says on the tape that he considered their deal "a private agreement" and that he would have to get his daughters' approval before it could be finalized. Richard Williams was expected to continue testifying Thursday.

Venus Williams testified that she was never told anything about the proposed event, nor did anyone ask her to sign a document waiving IMG's rights to represent her. She said her father supported their move to IMG because the sisters had become top players and "everything had gotten so big." She described IMG's handling of tasks both large and small, from ensuring she has a ride from an airport in a foreign country to negotiating terms of endorsement deals and scheduling tennis tournaments. "If I need something, IMG takes care of it," Venus Williams said.

Venus Williams said she didn't learn of the proposed "Battle of the Sexes" event until she received a notice in the mail threatening legal action if she didn't commit to an appearance. She also said she never remembered meeting Rhodes and did not recall discussing business with Clarke, whose brother is a tennis pro in Palm Beach Gardens, where the Williamses live.

Several witnesses have testified that progress on the proposed "Battle of the Sexes" match ground to a halt after IMG issued a "cease and desist" letter demanding that CCKR stop working on the project in March 2001. The trial is expected to continue for at least another week. Venus and Serena Williams could be called to testify again by their lawyers.

Source: Curt Anderson, Associated Press