Was Serena Williams Right to Launch a Tirade Toward the Umpire at the 2018 US Finals?
I'm a huge tennis fan. Have been for many years now and follow the sport pretty closely on television too. But this recent "woo-haa" regarding the "better" half of the Williams sisters, has got people talking overtime. But who is right or wrong, as the case maybe?
Firstly, the facts. It was the final of the US Open and, it must be said, Serena was already seen to be struggling against her opponent and long-time fan, Naomi Osaka. At one point in the match, it looked as if her coach was gesturing to her on-court, implying giving her advice during the game. This is under strict violation of the rules and was caught out by the eagle-eyed umpire. He issued her a warning, to which her verbal assault began. Screaming and shouting was the order of the day from Serena, as well as alleging discriminatory accusations his way. The frustration only grew as moments after, she even smashed her racket on the floor in an fit of rage.
Her rant resumed shortly as she called the umpire a thief upon him docking her a point, which culminating in her getting a whole game docked too. It was a car crash, if I ever I saw one, in the world of tennis. So, eventually, Naomi won her first title ever but under the shadow of controversy that took place on-stage. It's all there to check out on YouTube. Now, my take on this?
Well, as much respect as I have for Serena Williams, that was nothing more than a disgruntled player throwing a hissy fit. The fact that she even brought sexism into it, is laughable. I mean, regardless of how much men or women have been reprimanded for such behaviour in the past, it certainly does not give Serena a free pass to act like a spoilt brat on centre stage. Gender does not play a part in conducting yourself in an aggressive, loud and abusive fashion. One's own social morality should intrinsically prevent such occurrences. Especially when you're suppose to be a role model for millions. Tempers can flare, of course. But outbursts like this should not tolerated in today's sporting culture, under any circumstances.
Not only that, but she single-handedly ruined a truly defining moment for her opponent, Naomi Osaka. So embarrassed by it all that she even had to cover her face in shame on the podium. I feel for that girl. One should "always" try to stay in control. Time and maturity normally teach you that. And all this was anything but. This was magnified tenfold when it was later revealed that her coach did indeed signal to her on court! All it took was her to be the bigger person and shrug it off. Take the warning and get back to actually playing the game. Case closed. This was a ridiculous spectacle that took the spotlight and focus off the final itself.
Anyways, these are my personal feelings about the current "buzzword" concerning tennis right now. In a world that's fast becoming "man vs. women" in almost every facet I can think of, this is the last thing we all needed.
If you've been a fan of tennis for any length of time, maybe you should remember the tiras of Mcenroe, Nastase, and even Jimmy Connors. I agreed with Williams on the sexist part of it. tennis is her JOB. If you have some dumbass hurting your job, you should be pissed off too.
Her "job" has brought her plenty of money to see her through a few lifetimes, let alone one. So the outburst sure wasn't to get a pay rise. And besides, the "job" comes with a set of rules, just like any other.
Also, the McEnroe and Connors era was a completely different social construct. These days being a man, you have to be careful not to "sneeze" in the wrong direction. Her tirade was nothing to do with equality. This was a blatant case of a player simply being reprimanded for court abuse.
You cannot be serious man !! (see what I did there). McEnroe was penalised many times in his career for his conduct and was fined tens of thousands of dollars. Sexism is nothing to do with it. Serena broke the rules she knew existed and then got annoyed when she was penalised for it just like any other player would be, male or female. She's just a egomaniac who doesn't think the rules should apply to her. (IMO)
Nicely put... :)
I can see you two are members of the "good ole boys" club... and you wonder why women protest the way they do... must be Trump supporters as well..
Lol! So you're stereotyping us based on gender. See the irony there? :)
Ripped 2 shredzzz.
:)
no, not gender, just your words and view
I agree with you and would go further and say Serena Williams is a joke. I had to laugh when she said the following after the match during the press conference "I'm here fighting for woman's rights and equality and all kinds of stuff".
"All kinds of stuff." Oh right. What a joke. She hasn't got a clue. People like Serena Williams give all woman a bad name. She broke the rules she signed up to adhere to when she joined the tour that makes her millions of dollars and then has a tantrum when she is penalised for breaking them and then has the audacity to make it a sexism issue.
Jog on Serena.
Totally, buddy. A mean, where was the equal voice for the "female" winner being caught slap bang in the middle of the shit sandwich? No feminists to her rescue, I noticed. :)
She's a sore loser, that's all I say.
It was Osaka's moment to shine, and people who boo Osaka later need to get a few more brain cells.
Thanks for your post @ezzy
The herds of "sheeple" were out in force that night. :)
haha yeah, something like that. Its quite embarrassing for people that age to act this way...
Btw... Getting low on my power %, will upvote your comment in a little bit:)
Cheers
As much as I try to be objective about this issue, I can't help but feel like Serena was caught with her hand in the cookie jar. We wouldn't know for sure what the real story is. The umpire might have cheated, Serena might've cheated. What we do know, and what could've been controlled was how Serena handled everything. She's been so good for more than two decades now, and while it's amazing to see her longevity, one has to wonder when her decline would set in.
Emotions were definitely running high at that point, but the outcome shouldn't be decided by sentiment. I'm pretty sure she received coaching at some point, I bet everyone does. Every little advantage could prove the difference after all.
Hey man! First off, I hope you're doing real good, my bro!
And yeah, to the Serena Williams incident, my personal opinion is I reckon it's pretty cut and dry. She pushed back at a person of authority without reason or respect. The umpire was just doing his job and shouldn't have been subjected to her tirade. Literally, he was only attempting to carry out his official duties!
After the first point was docked, did you see how she wouldn't let it go? She called him a liar, thief and said he'd never officiate another of her matches again. All the while, he was silent. I mean, that's just insane behaviour and honestly, she's lucky the whole match wasn't thrown out. And bringing in the age-old "sexism" argument into it, was as low and ridiculous as you can get. Not a big fan of people who lash out with undue thought and retrospect.
It just seems like a publicity stunt now.
That would not surprise me in the slightest, bud. :)
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I personally think it's just a publicitty stunt.
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Could well be. :)
I have always known this about feminism, it seeks to bring disunity among men and women.
If channelled wrongly, that can be an unfortunate side effect.
Or maybe the idea itself is a problem.
you must not follow tennis that closely if you think that qualification was justified
here are a list of all disqualifications at that level from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tennis_violations
nothing as minor as arguing a penalty for a the minor infraction of a coaching gesture which was him giving her the thumbs up
Lol, are you pretending to be that clueless, bud? I certainly hope so. I follow tennis close enough to know code violations when I see them. Racket abuse? Insulting the umpire? Threatening and aggressive behaviour? All the above have nothing to do with gender. Very simple. If you condone that, best go watch WWE instead. At least we understand that's mostly play acting! :)
the violations you state happened after serena was given a penalty with the umpire stating her coach giving her the thumbs up was a secret signal and was in breach of a coaching violation
naturally if somebody is punished with such a ridiculous premise at such a high level you would be quite pissed at the very least at the lack of professionalism from a games steward
...And react in that inhuman manner? Come on, man. "He" was the authority for the match. That position must be respected. You think footballers who get sent off the pitch can waste minutes of the match arguing back at the ref? That's the very reason officiators are put in charge! To stop unhinged players going loco! Her actions were undeniably abominable by anyone's standards and it looks like that is the general consensus on the matter. And besides, the coach "was" gesturing to her (regardless if she saw it or not) resulting in the correct decision in the end. Players do not have authority on the court. The selected umpire does.
inhumane? very ott way to describe it
nobody would continue playing without contesting that joke of a penalty on an outdated minor rule that's been planned to be scrapped for a long time and will be gone by next year
how do you suppose it would be corrected if the umpire was wrong no doovers in tennis? or is it they cant be wrong
Jeez, refer to previous comment! The umpire "is" the authority and what he says goes! Doesn't matter what you or I think about the relevance of the rule in question. Just going by this conversation between us, shows how important their job is. She yelled and screamed like a spoilt brat. I find it unbelievable you think that behaviour should be tolerated, bud.
different standards,
her penalty's in a top level game were much harsher than anybody else had prior
here an example from one month ago
either its because shes a women or because of her race its evident there is some bias but then again maybe the umpire had $10k on Osaka at 10/1
An umpires rulings are "discretionary". At the end of the day, they're people just like anyone else. Serena verbally assaulted him for an extended period of time. Abusively and with aggression. Not exactly the best way to get an umpire on-side. She was instrumental in her own downfall.
The clip you showed was racket abuse, but the umpire decided not to call violation. His match, his rules. Sexism and racism rubbish to one side, it was his call. Just like different football refs allow for different incidents, same goes for tennis or any other sport you'd care to mention. Nothing to do with her laughable cries of discrimination in the least.