London, Aug 8(ANI): American tennis player Serena Williams, who won her first Olympics gold medal in the singles event at the London Games, has been widely criticized for performing the disreputable Crip Walk dance after her win.

The Crip Walk is an impulsive version of the hip-hop dance that was made famous in the 1970's by Los Angeles gang The Crips, who was notorious for their callous murders, drug dealing and association with the mafia.

After a bombardment of criticism on Twitter, Fox Sports reporter Jason Whitlock branded Williams' unprepared jig 'immature and classless'.

What Serena did was akin to cracking a tasteless, X-rated joke inside a church. Serena deserved to be called out. What she did was immature and classless, The Daily Mail quoted Whitlock, as saying in his blog.

Another media personality Reid Forgrave added: And there was Serena - the tennis legend, the winner of 14 individual Grand Slams, the best player of her generation, the American girl being crowned at the All-England Club as the queen of tennis - Crip-Walking all over the most lily-white place in the world.

You couldn't help shake your head. It was as if Serena just couldn't seem to avoid dipping into waters of controversy even as she'd ascended to the top of her sport, he added.

However, Williams insisted she hadn't meant anything by the dance, and that she was just so delighted after whipping rival Maria Sharapova 6-0, 6-1 to take home gold in the women's final that her body almost did it of its own accord.

It was just me. I love to dance. I didn't know what else to do. I was so happy, and next thing I know I started dancing and moving. I didn't plan it. It just happened, Serena said. (ANI)