Posted on 09/13/2009 4:45:56 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Reporting from New York - Serena Williams will be fined $10,500 for behavior deemed "unsportsmanlike conduct," and also for racket abuse after her obscenity-filled and aggressive reaction to a critical foot fault called during her 6-4, 7-5 U.S. Open semifinal loss to Kim Clijsters on Saturday night.
There will also be further investigation of the incident according to a statement released by the U.S. Open, "The Grand Slam rule book also allows for an investigation to be conducted by the Grand Slam Committee Administrator to determine if the behavior of Ms. Williams warrants consideration as a Major Offence for which additional penalties can be imposed. This investigation has now begun."
Williams earned $350,000 for her singles semifinal finish.
After an unidentified lineswoman called a foot fault on a second serve which gave Williams a double fault and put her a point away from the loss, Williams approached the lineswoman, shook a tennis ball in the direction of the woman's face and threatened to shove the ball down the women's throat.
Because Williams had already received a warning after breaking her racket at the end of the first set, her actions in confronting the lineswoman resulted in another code violation and a penalty point. That point was match point and gave Clijsters the win.
Through a public relations agency, Williams said Sunday, "Last night everyone could truly see the passion I have for my job. Now that I have had time to gain my composure I can see that while I don't agree with the unfair line call in the heat of battle I let my passion and emotion get the better of me and as a result handled the situation poorly."
Serena and her sister Venus will play the women's doubles final today,
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
If the races were reversed - would it be a hate crime?
My brother said he’s never heard such a profanity laced tirade as what she did.....wonder if they have the b*&^s to suspend her.....
Serena is a typical Communist, don’t like a call, so you just threaten to execute them. Typical Obama voter.
32 seconds income shot to hell.
You can take the girl out of the hood; but ..........!
Serena should take some time off. Maybe she could get a spot on The Biggest Loser. (Come on, girlfriend, you know it’s true.)
Time for Barry the Kenyan to step in with another one of his “Beer with Barry” specialties at the White House.
Typical. Won't face the music.
Williams should be suspended for a year for threatening bodily harm.
Do not pay it. turn the tables and ask where they would be w/out her? its not like all that many folks watch tennis during the NFL season.
I thought she was a Christian.
vaudine
Here’s the video of Serena’s profanity laced outburst :
http://www.mooveon.net/en/article_9125283162259
The female commentator (Mary Carillo?) made interesting comments during the Federer match. Very critical of tennis for not suspending her.
Symptomatic of Serena having lost focus on tennis to pursue her fashion designer foolishness. She thought she could do both and is frustrated when reality proves her wrong.
What are you talking about?
The official who called the foot fault is Asian.
They were raised as Jehovah’s Witness and left the hood fairly early..like 8 or so
but their dad doesn’t mind race baiting....he has a history of it
maybe he freeps...can we ping the race card ping list?
Let me guess: the line judge acted “stupidly”.
Its been a racist week for female athletes of color! first Caster now Serena. The MAN is holding the girls down! /s
There was no apology to the referee and she should be charged criminally with threatening bodily harm!
she is disgusting!
You can tell a person’s character by how they treat people in a onedown position.
..yes, thank you Mary Carillo - while every other CBS sportscaster was tip-toeing around this ugly incident, Mary spoke up and said what needed to be said. She said it was ugly, uncalled for, and a blight on womens tennis if they don't come up with a bigger penalty - i.e. suspension.
“Confronting the ballgirl” —I like that. She said she’d KILL her..!
Other than “are you serious?”-I couldn’t hear a word.
why would they let her play?
Oh, yeah, its all about the money. sportsmanship and role models be dammmmmed.
“The female commentator (Mary Carillo?) made interesting comments during the Federer match. Very critical of tennis for not suspending her.”
Wait - Mary Carillo is a female??
First off their loud mouthed Racist Father.
Caster is a man I think...if he did not have a pee pee they would have allowed physical inspection you’d reckon..
I miss the old days when McEnroe and Connors were in charge of the courts. Tennis has become the ultimate in PC sports.
You guys can hack on Williams all you want, but she had nothing but class for her opponent after losing the match.
So what does that have to do with Serena’s outburst?
Good. I didn’t see Mary Carillo’s remarks, but I saw Serena flip out and it was ugly. Once upon a time, back in my lost youth, basketball used to be considered a kind of nice, agressive, masculine but disciplined sport...and then somehow brutish behavior, threats and superstar thuggitude overtook it.
I hope this doesn’t happen to tennis.
I saw a direct quote from a German woman who was there.
Serena did not say she was going to kill her.
She said, If I {unintelligible}, I would shove this ball down your f***ing throat.
Hey, it’s Pro sports. Tell me the name of a pro that hasn’t momentarily lost it?
Is that not the most bizarre cover ever...
I think the Williams sisters are trash with cash!...have baeen since they came on the scene and always will be. No class!
John McEnroe says “...you can’t call that there...” meaning that an inch worth of a foot fault which is not going to affect the point even microscopically is not a reasonable call on match point or the point prior to it. The lineswoman screwed up and I still don’t see anything in body language or anything else to indicate she had a reason to feel threatened. The lineswoman needs to be sent back to the minor leagues.
Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Cal Ripken, Dale Murphy ...
Then your brother didn't work in the "old school" freight business.
I guess the old Man Wright Jr telling the Hippo so many times she is the best and the white girls can't hit the ball helped with the pissy attitude Why should we have to put up with it?? You are up!
"I never have the facts, but obviously...the lines-woman...acted stupidly."
“The lineswoman screwed up”
You mean it was a bad call?
From the video I saw her foot was definitely over the line.
Either they have rules or they don’t.
LOL! That’s the way it would go.
She did not say that she would kill her. That’s incorrect.
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