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In reply to the discussion: Billie Jean King: "Thank you Serena Williams for calling out double standard-More voices needed..." [View all]LenaBaby61
(6,974 posts)Serena was whipping Jennifer Capriati in set 3 until the So-called chair umpire Marianna Alves and her crew did her in during the third set at the 2004 US Open.
How Serena held her nerve and temper was beyond me. I'd have went ballistic. Nope, she was TOLD in many a column I read that she should have been the bigger person because she was a multi-slam champion. Shut up and be quiet, and in some cases, I read where people said that she's won ENOUGH, good that she lost even though cheated. Mighty white of them. And even when the USTA issued an apology to Serena because that match was so poorly umpired, those same folks saying that she's won enough and should shut up, many said something to the effect of she was black and the only reason she was given a written apology And, even though Capriati clearly was shown to have seen several of those balls hit inside the baseline and past her as winners for Serena during that match, she said that she didn't see anything in her post match presser And the LAST shot of the match landed clearly inside of the baseline as a winner for Serena, yet was called out and the match went to Capriati. Racism and Sexism is alive and well in the still mostly white sport of tennis.
Finally, black people in general have to always be the "BIGGER PERSON." Or are told to SHUT UP and take it, or turn the other cheek, and that's especially so for African-American women who tend to stand up for themselves. I know, I've been there as an African-American and Native American woman, and have had to stand up for myself in the field I've worked in.