General Discussion
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)But unless you actually FOLLOW tennis on the regular, then your opinion is one that is NOT taking all things into consideration, because you have no idea what Serena has had to face during her tennis career. Being black and a woman is difficult in a sport that at one time didn't want "your kind" playing in it. This official would never do a male tennis player like Rafa, Nole or Federer like he did Serena--during a championship finals match. He took a game away from her which "officially" cost her the match (She probably would have lost, because Osaka was playing extremely well and deserved to win her 1st US Open singles slam. And to Serena's credit, she's come a long way back, #16, after a difficult and life-threatening post-pregnancy). Now, If Ramos had called her over and warned her and she kept going, then that's on Serena Williams for complaining after a warning, and he'd have had the right to remove the game. But there was NO warning. He just took a game away from her after slandering her for cheating earlier in the match. Serena Williams has had a match stolen from her, and it happened at the same US Open in 2004. Ramos at the very least guilty of being a snowflake/thin-skinned IMHO. He abused his power also. By the way, he issued a code violation to Venus Williams because he said that she was cheating by allegedly receiving coaching help from her coach during a 2016 FO match. Venus told him during the changeover, I'm 36 years old, and I don't have to cheat.
At the 2001 US Open, and on prime-time TV, male tennis player Lleyton Hewitt accused a black male lines man of CHEATING for the black male opponent he was playing (James Blake) when he called 2 foot faults on him. Everyone heard him and knew what he meant. Yet, he wasn't defaulted and not even FINED. The match was reviewed, and he still wasn't fined or anything. I wonder WHY Hewitt wasn't punished for his racist tirade on prime-time tv? You can't tell me that him being white and a male didn't have something to do with it, and from all I have ever read, Hewitt never apologized to the linesman he racially slandered (If he did, then my bad, I'm wrong, but I don't think he ever has). In 2002, he said something to the affect of, lets just let bygones be bygones, and that he's spoken to Blake and we're fine You talk about Serena wanting to be bigger than the game, but Hewitt never being punished for his overt racism made HIM bigger than the game. He got away with it & he won the tournament. By the way, Hewitt was a jerk his WHOLE career. So, me being a fan of a following tennis since 1969, I can see where Serena Williams would feel a "certain way" about certain things concerning the US Open, as she was cheated out of a match there in 2004. That prime-time match was called so horribly, that the USTA issued a letter of apology to Serena Williams, but not before "gold-star" umpire (Marianna Alvez) was removed from officiating the rest of the tournament. Serena actually LOST that match to Jennifer Capriati due to bad umpiring/lines calls. You had people like yourself saying that she thought that SHE was bigger than the game, when everyone who actually knew tennis and who saw that match say that she was CHEATED out of that 3-set match. Actually, Serena held her temper quite well after having a match STOLEN from her. But she was still called a cry baby, sore loser, when she rightfully complained in her post match presser about how badly her match was called. Thank goodness shot spot was made a permanent fixture in tennis, but that only after Serena had that match STOLEN from her.
And here we are today.
Look at this cartoon from Australia. This isn't racist? Not sure what race you are but if you aren't black, you have NO idea what black women, especially successful ones go through with sexism & racism on the regular.
I have been a Serena Williams fan for decades. Love her, respect her, and there have been times where I've not even agreed with some of her actions. She definitely isn't perfect, as none of us are. However, I'm hearing how she's a cry baby, sore loser, cheater, makes up things, a whiner and complainer. She's had to endure being called a man, transvestite, monkey, gorilla, silver back, liar--has been accused allowing their father to match-fix matches between them, and you have had those say that she's built like a male/muscular/intimidating and that it gives her an advantage over the "regular" women on the tour
Like I say, you have a right to your own opinion. But, unless you have a more full context of what this woman's gone through on the tour over her 20 plus years playing on it, then to me what you're saying about her thinking that she's "bigger than the game" is simplistic and shallow at best.