Posted on 09/10/2018 5:16:48 PM PDT by EdnaMode
Serena Williams has part of it right. There is a huge double standard for women when it comes to how bad behavior is punished — and not just in tennis.
But in her protests against an umpire during the United States Open final on Saturday, she also got part of it wrong. I don’t believe it’s a good idea to apply a standard of “If men can get away with it, women should be able to, too.” Rather, I think the question we have to ask ourselves is this: What is the right way to behave to honor our sport and to respect our opponents?
To recap: The trouble began when early in the second set, Ms. Williams was given a warning for coaching. This one is on her coach: Patrick Mouratoglou was using both hands to motion to Ms. Williams to move forward and got called on it. While it is true that illegal coaching is quite common and that most coaches do it, it’s also true that despite what many commentators have said following Saturday’s events, they are called on it quite frequently and that most of the time, players just shrug it off and know that going forward, they and their coaches now need to behave, because the next infraction will cost them a point. The player is responsible for his or her coach’s conduct. And it is actually irrelevant whether the player saw or heard whatever instructions were given; either way, it is still an infraction.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Brings back good memories!
‘Roid rage?
Agreed. Venus was a good competitor and showed class in defeat.
They’ll probably consider female only refs from now on.
Those are really good points. Serena is a poor sport and can’t just let her opponent win. Her tantrums are such terrible behavior for a professional athlete. Roid rage sounds like a strong possibility.
Agreed. I’ve always found Martina to be a good commentator and fair to all of the players.
Serena looks like she weighs a lot more now, but noone wants to say that.
Believe Serena knew she would lose, was frustrated, and caused trouble.
She did congratulate Osaka afterwards, so have to give her some credit
He may have been, but that is what he said.
Guy has a history of statements like that.
Way too much testosterone.
Way too much testosterone.
Professional tennis players aren’t stupid.
They know the rules of the game.
They know how to play the rules to win to get paid and gain fame.
The entire affair was a con job by Serena.
From the responses of ESPN commentators, they were also in on it.
Spoke with a lot of pros today. They’re aware of it and really hate Serena.
Listening to Serena’s diatribe is like watching a tennis volley. She uses the discrimination shot, the same way she would place spin on the ball. She then tries to provoke the umpire by unilaterally stating the opposite of his call and warning, a cross court shot. She then accuses him of being a thief and a liar, a lob shot to provoke another penalty. It’s all a set-up to extort money from the deep pocket which has been awarding her millions on the circuit.
Serena’s body, like Barry Bonds & Tiger Woods, is showing the effects of massive steroid/PED enhancements.
I would suggest most of her prior championships be marked with an asterisk for the chemical assistance.
There is absolutely nothing feminine about that physique.
Nice to see a relatively thin, young and MUCH more feminine woman beat her for the championship.
Finally, the NYC crowd supporting the racist Serena showed their true colors.
“Does this count as one tennis pro mansplaining to another?”
Caveat: On occasion, it is wholly the inability to make a sensible argument that is the critical determinant - thus for these certain people the entire world is mansplaining to them all of the time.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.