Remember way back in April when a Brazilian surfer named JP Azevedo went after another surfer named Sara Taylor in Bali? Tough to forget, despite the internet’s short-term memory. Well, Kelly Slater was recently surfing with the offender. Slater dropped in on him, staring at him on the take-off, and then gave the hand signal for, “I’ve got my eyes on you.”
When footage of the Taylor/Avezedo’s scuffle first hit the internet, the outrage was, shall we say, loud. TLDR for those who may not have seen it. Sara popped up on a wave as another surfer dropped in on her. After a brief back-and-forth on the face, the guy who dropped in went off the back. When Taylor was paddling back out, a third surfer paddled over to her and popped her a good one in the head. Then the skirmish continued on shore, with the two aggressors going after Taylor and her friend Charlie, the latter of which was filming. The footage was posted online and the internet quickly identified Avezedo, who was promptly dropped by his sponsor. Avezedo apologized for the incident shortly thereafter.
“Quebra Onda, after learning of the regrettable facts that occurred, reiterate that we repudiate any and all types of violence, mainly against women,” the brand that sponsored Avezedo wrote on Instagram. “As this type of behavior is unacceptable, we inform you that we have taken the immediate decision to end our partnership with the athlete JP Azevedo.”
Kelly Slater, a guy who frequents Bali, took the opportunity to call on his numerous friends there to expose the offenders.“Get this guy sent home where he belongs,” he wrote. Although Avezedo is still surfing in Bali, Slater looks like he decided to let him know that all is not forgiven.
After a drop in full of eye-contact, Slater stared Avezedo down, banged a turn off the lip, then hopped out the back. While Avezedo still managed to sneak a quick little tube, getting checked by the G.O.A.T himself likely isn’t something he’ll forget any time soon.
