Many people were surprised to hear that the New York Knicks had fired head coach Tom Thibodeau, but very few of them were on TV as it happened.

But when tennis legend John McEnroe heard the news, he was actively announcing the French Open in Paris on TNT. This, of course, is a rather difficult place to process that kind of information. But it was especially difficult for McEnroe, who is a longtime fan of the Knicks.

The former No. 1 men's tennis player in the world was often spotted at Madison Square Garden supporting the Knicks during their recent playoff run to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they eventually lost to the Pacers.

During the broadcast, the camera panned to former NBA MVP point guard Derrick Rose, who was attending the tennis tournament.

Rose played for Thibodeau with the Chicago Bulls from 2010 until 2015, then again with the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2018-19 campaign, and with the Knicks from 2021 until 2023. Rose was a fitting person to show as McEnroe thought about his favorite basketball team.

"That's pretty harsh," said McEnroe. "That is a bummer."

The Knicks will soon begin their search for their next head coach, and whoever is hired has very big shoes to fill in New York.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: John McEnroe reacted to Tom Thibodeau firing while announcing the French Open

Reporting by Bryan Kalbrosky, For The Win / For The Win

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