September 10, 2018

The WTA sides with Serena Williams.

The New York Post reports that the Women's Tennis Association agrees that Williams was the victim of a double standard:
“[Saturday] also brought to the forefront the question of whether different standards are applied to men and women in the officiating of matches,” [WTA chief executive Steve Simon wrote on Twitter]. “The WTA believes that there should be no difference in the standards of tolerance provided to the emotions expressed by men vs women and is committed to working with the sport to ensure that all players are treated the same. We do not believe that this was done [Saturday] night.”
And the winner of the men's title, Novak Djokovic, said:
“I have my personal opinion that maybe the chair umpire should not have pushed Serena to the limit, especially in a Grand Slam final. Just maybe changed — not maybe, but he did change the course of the match.... [It] was, in my opinion, maybe unnecessary. We all go through our emotions, especially when you’re fighting for a Grand Slam trophy.”

228 comments:

1 – 200 of 228   Newer›   Newest»
rhhardin said...

It's a play for women judges for everything.

David Begley said...

To the extent I could understand her screaming, I thought Serena’s main complaint was that men get coaching from the stands all the time. If true, the problem with tennis is failure to follow the rule of law. Sound familiar?

And how can the ump discriminate between two women based upon sex?

Serena sucks.

tim maguire said...

She cheated, but the real problem was the mean man who was mean to her. Nice job WTA, it'll be fun to watch officiating standards crater now that it's clear you will back your prima donnas and leave your umpires twisting in the wind.

rehajm said...

Tennis wrecked, too.

Humperdink said...

Having played and observed competitive sports for over 50 years, I can tell you without equivocation, that referees know which buttons to push to get certain competitors wound up. Smart players bite their lip and play on. Serena doesn't subscribe to that strategy.

rehajm said...

Serena sucks.

All that integrity stuff and a mom and not raising her daughter to cheat. Coach says we were cheating like everyone else.

But there's a double standard and that's the bad part.

cronus titan said...

The coach admitted he was trying to give her hand signals in violation of the rules. Williams pitches a fit. The umpire was supposed to take the verbal abuse because reasons.

This is all incredibly insulting to Osaka. Osaka beat Williams clearly and all the whining in the world will not change that.

Will the WTA now put an asterisk next to Osaka's win?

rhhardin said...

Radio Japan reported the match with some pride, no mention of controversy.

stlcdr said...

there’s a difference between throwing a fit because the player is berating themselves for a moment of failure, and a fit blaming someone else.

It’s like trying to argue with a highway cop because they stopped you. You are not going to make things better, and quite the contrary.

Narayanan said...

Any proof she was looking to coach for advice?
People gesture at TV too
Signal sent but nobody receive.

The Crack Emcee said...

I repeat myself (from the other post):

"This is like the Democrats and Trump: until you engage with what's wrong ON YOUR SIDE you'll make no headway anywhere else because you have no credibility."

They shoulda let her wear the cat suit. Now they got an angry black woman in tennis. My god.

I don't even like them in my house.

Narayanan said...

She was also fines $$$
Double jeopardy?
Drawn and quartered

Laslo Spatula said...

Serena may now exclaim "Don't I have a right to express my opinion?!"

in the style of Kirk Douglas.

I am Laslo.

mezzrow said...

Some people just don't take no for an answer. It's news when two of them encounter one another. One way or another, we'll soon find out if tennis can survive sans Serena.

jaydub said...

I'm boycotting tennis over this. Before, I was just ignoring it, but now I'm actively boycotting it.

traditionalguy said...

Backwards analysis: Roid rage is penalized if a man displays it so equal treatment requires a woman on steroids be penalized for it too.

The Femanist Establishment wants special treatment for women who lose their temper. ..because.

gspencer said...

Little wonder why the makers of feminine products don't seek out either one of the Williams sisters to do product endorsements. Hemi engines and CAT tractors, on the other hand, . . .

Hagar said...

Come on people. t was her coach who cheated. Serena Williams threw a tantrum on the court, which she should not have done, and has now doubled down on it, which she definitely should not do, but it is only a woman throwing a tantrum.
As for double standards, that is a "conversation" worth having, but the remedy is to tighten down on the men, not to let up on the women.

rehajm said...

t was her coach who cheated

It was her coach but not her? And we know this how? Because she denied she was cheating? She never looked up at her coach?

Ralph L said...

It didn't occur to the WTA that they should improve enforcement of the men.

Ralph L said...

An enterprising reporter would check the video for where she looks during the match--so it won't happen.

rehajm said...

but he did change the course of the match

It went from a quick Serena exit to a slightly delayed Serena exit due to all the whinging.

Humperdink said...

Maybe Serena should start a #MeScrewed movement for women's tennis.

rehajm said...

Hillary! redux. Losing big doesn't match the narrative we created. We need to fix that.

Shouting Thomas said...

When all women are obnoxious assholes, the asshole ideology of feminism will lead us to asshole Utopia.

Paco Wové said...

My husband isn’t a fan of Serena Williams, and while his cheering for her opponents never much fazed me before, these days it fills me with unspeakable rage.

Williams is a 36-year-old woman who exists in a system that wasn’t built for her, who excels at a game that isn’t kind to her, who put her body and indeed her life at risk to have a baby that now depends on her, and is still expected to handle every setback with ease and graciousness, which most of the time she does. ... I can’t understand why more people like my husband aren’t outside right now erecting statues of Williams, let alone able to drum up enough empathy to just cheer her on in a tennis match.

Watching her melt down ...I was torn—on the one hand certain her arguing with umpire Carlos Ramos was doing her no favors, and on the other hand appreciative that she was perhaps doing the rest of the world a favor, calling out a perceived injustice against women right as it was unfolding.


Via Steve Sailer... so much crazy it's hard to excerpt.

Rick said...

Blogger Narayanan Subramanian said...
Any proof she was looking to coach for advice?


Not relevant, an example of shifting the goalposts to protect a favorite. This is like the FBI inventing an intent requirement to justify not charging Hillary even though thousands of non-politically connected people are in jail without one. People look to increase the standards when the actual standard produces a result they don't like.

Her coach admitted he was coaching. Her defense consisted of an appeal to her own character which isn't relevant since the charge is against him rather than her. The appeal is a distraction from the relevant issue which is factually known, there is no need to refer to character when the facts are known.

The appeal to sexism is an after the fact justification. Her original defense has already been proven false.

Narayanan said...

This show tennis isn't American like Baseball is...
Coaches on bases, signs from the manager.

Umpire should not be looking in the stands ... There is a game going on.

Karen of Texas said...

I was a competitive athlete in basketball during my teenage years. I can tell you without a doubt that some refs called more fouls and violations during the girls' games than the boys. No, we didn't just foul or travel more. The guys would be out there hacking and extra step traveling away and nada. It was beyond irritating. You just sucked it up, adjusted, and played on.

Serena did not comport herself well. At all. But she lost her composure because she was getting trounced and then allowed what the umpire did to get inside her head. She redirected at him instead of into her play. I don't care if the men don't have jack called. Suck it up. Play. Take the loss - or pull out a win. Then take up your crap up with the WTA.

Hagar and Ralph L are right.

Bob Boyd said...

Her coach was just taking the opportunity to practice his signalling. He never in a million years thought Serena would see them.

Big Mike said...

Just maybe changed — not maybe, but he did change the course of the match....

Serena Williams lost in two sets and the score was not close in either one. Djokovic Is merely saying what people want to hear. He can’t really believe that.

Christy said...

The Men's Final last night was peppered with approving comments about how sensible the ref was to not call this or that. I'm disgusted with the lot.

She saw she was losing and acted out to throw Osaka off her game, nothing more of less than that.

lgv said...

If it weren't for double standards, they would have no standards at all. Many coaches coach during a match and never get caught because it is too subtle. Serena's coach wasn't very good at subtle. Our local police aren't into busting people for pot, but if I lit up a joint at train platform right next to a police officer, I might get busted.

If she hadn't gotten the third penalty for berating the official, it would have ended just fine. No one can argue that the coaching violation was not valid and the racket destruction call is very standard. If they didn't call the game penalty, she would have held serve and then lost the match when Osaka held her serve. Match over. Now we get to talk about ad naseum.

Molly said...

The rules were written by white men to perpetuate the supremacy of white men. The rules should never have been applied to women's tennis, and especially to women tennis players of color. In resisting the pressure to surrender to the oppressive system, Serena Williams really is a modern Spartacus.

Narayanan said...

Lopsided score ... Coaching was not helping Serena ... Umpire was just piling on.

Renee said...

Agreeing with Karen from Texas.

We all have been at point in all lives we just want to go bat sh!t crazy over something directing it at someone, due to be frustrated that we don't have control and things aren't going your way. We don't, because it doesn't solve the issue at that very moment in time. We deal with it later.

To quote Karen...
"I don't care if the men don't have jack called. Suck it up. Play. Take the loss - or pull out a win. Then take up your crap up with the WTA."


Reverse the sexes here, if it was a man verbally berating a female umpire/referee??



Leland said...

So what was the double standard? Did Osaka receive coaching from the sideline?

IMO, I'm surprised Serena's coach had the nerve to try and coach her. If I had her experience, that would piss me off more. "Quit telling me what to do like I haven't been here before." I would want the umpire to tell them to stop it.

Ralph L said...

Serena Williams really is a modern Spartacus
We're trying to crucify her, but we need more men to nail her down.

Narayanan said...

I don't have TV,
Just pitching in

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

I'm with Jaydub.

Sebastian said...

I thought the double standard was that female tennis players would get equal pay for much less work.

Ralph L said...

I'm with Christy--manufactured tantrum to throw Osaka off her game, but perhaps juiced by juice.

gilbar said...

Igv said
If she hadn't gotten the third penalty for berating the official, it would have ended just fine. No one can argue that the coaching violation was not valid and the racket destruction call is very standard. If they didn't call the game penalty, she would have held serve and then lost the match when Osaka held her serve


It'd Would NOT have ended 'just fine', it would have ended with her loss.
Which is WHY she HAD TO get the third penalty: she saw she was going to lose, and did what it took to stop that.

Mark said...

We all have been at point in all lives we just want to go bat sh!t crazy over something directing it at someone, due to be frustrated that we don't have control and things aren't going your way.

You are talking about all of the whiny commenters here, right?

The Crack Emcee said...

Leland said...

"So what was the double standard?"

I read all of these, so far, wondering if anyone was going to address this - since it's the issue - but nope. They don't care. And the fact, a black icon is once again in the position of straightening out an injustice whites haven't, is of no importance to them. I see another "first" having been achieved. (Bye-bye, double standards in tennis.) They see nothing.

That's how this "works". Whites do the same thing with reparations: If they don't address the issue, they can keep saying Serena's wrong, and feeling like HAVING THEIR WAY is all that's correct. Make them address the issue. Make them find the double standard and discuss that. Make them stay on-point.

Their heads will explode.

Mark said...

An athlete argued with the officials. BFD. Get over it. There are other way more important things in life than to obsess over this.

DanTheMan said...

We should have the local prosecutor check to see if the judge has any connections to Russia. Or if any of his associates ever met with Russians.

Because when the "wrong" person wins, that's what we do.

DanTheMan said...

We are now at the point where all that matters is the race and gender of the accused and the accuser.

Those facts are determinative. Everything else is just spin.

Renee said...

Mark,

I admit my faults. I get whiney...

Henry said...

Everyone has forgotten it, but earlier in the U.S. Open French competitor Alize Cornet was given a code violation by chair umpire Christian Rask for changing her shirt between sets.

That really did represent a double standard.

The only double standard in the Williams case is the rush by officialdom to coddle a superstar who wasn't supposed to lose.

Henry said...

They should have made her play with the broken racquet.

Phil 314 said...

Uh, excuse me but I was trying to watch a football game here!

rehajm said...

Their heads will explode

Spontaneous Human Combustion is a bit of a myth.

The Crack Emcee said...

Mark said...

"An athlete argued with the officials. BFD. Get over it. There are other way more important things in life than to obsess over this."

Yep - it's a fucking game - but they don't want to talk about important stuff. I'm picturing kids, all over America, enduring the Hell I know is happening, as they focus on anything else.

It's crushing sometimes.

Mike Petrik said...

Our society's multi-decade flirtation with prolonged adolescence is itself maturing into the elimination of adulthood altogether. We're becoming a nation of children -- our athletes, our entertainers, our CEOs and our politicians.

Henry said...

In order to have a double standard, you need to actually have a standard.

All these warnings are discretionary. There is no standard.

So maybe fix that first.

Gahrie said...

So why was Serena fined $17,000 after the match?

iowan2 said...

Double standard? Yes.
Men, players or coaches in the NFL, NBA, NCAA will be fined and/or suspended for questioning an officials call, AFTER the game.

The Crack Emcee said...

Henry said...

"There is no standard.

So maybe fix that first."

Homeopathy is water, sold as medicine. I can't think of a bigger symbol of our standard-less existence in the modern world, but few want to eliminate it, even if people die. Just like they don't want to get rid of the Catholic church even if kids are raped - for decades. There's just no enforcement of reality's parameters whatsoever.

No standards at all.

Renee said...

Maybe Osaka should return the title, it means nothing at this point with everyone backing Serena. ....

But she got 3 million out of it... so maybe not.

Not Sure said...

Until the argument for protecting women from competition with men in tennis tournaments is made explicit, it's not clear what the standards for women should be. What if one reason for it is that they're more triggered by their opponents' emotional outbursts than men are?

Renee said...

Umm Osaka is half black... Mom is Japanese, dad is from Haiti... so I don't get the racist accusation?

iowan2 said...

I'm picturing kids, all over America, enduring the Hell I know is happening,

Not my kids. They were taught adults in general, and coaches specifically were to be obeyed. If they had a problem, bring it home and mom and dad would listen to there problems and we would support their concerns without fail if our child was harmed. On the three occasions I felt the need to investigate I would sneak into practice to spy. On one occasion the coach was a jerk, and a bad coach. I just told my kid, that's life, luck of the draw. Suck it up for the season, don't take anything personal and concentrate on the small things to become a better player. Sometimes in life you just have to endure. 3 or 4 months of a season is but a blink of the eye.

Rick said...

Men, players or coaches in the NFL, NBA, NCAA will be fined and/or suspended for questioning an officials call, AFTER the game.

Pitt was assessed a 15 yard penalty in the Pitt-Penn St game because the coach did not leave the field when directed to by the referee. It's not a national conversation because he's white and thus those in the racial grievance industry cannot use it to their advantage. It's such a non-topic I wouldn't even know about it had I not happened to see it live.

People who are looking to be outraged are incredibly biased because they make to effort to study all the possible violations, they only grasp at those which support their conclusions and ignore the rest.

Shouting Thomas said...

On there other hand, females accused of attempted murders are treated with much greater leniency than male offenders.

Martha said...

Noted in NYTimes comment section—

Rewatch the game following the one game penalty. Osaka served that game and purposely hit the ball into the net repeatedly. Osaka lost that game 40-0. So Serena was made whole again AND STILL MANAGED TO LOSE THE SET, MATCH, and her cooL.

Drago said...

We are 15 minutes away from the WTA taking Osaka's win away because men and women are treated differently.

The establishment powers are doing everything in their power to undermine Osaka's win.

TrespassersW said...

She wasn't playing against a man, was she?

If she prefers the officiating in men's tennis, then that's what she should play. Otherwise, she should quit bitching. (And yes, that word was chosen deliberately.)

Fernandinande said...

whether different standards are applied to men and women

No data. Not even decent anecdotes. Plenty of feelings.

"The thing that stuck out was that self-control is simply a product of absolute brain size."

"Women and minorities affected the most."

TRISTRAM said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Crack Emcee said...

iowan2,

If the coach is a jerk, and a bad coach - but, rather than taking responsibility and finding a good teacher, parents were forcing their kids to endure a nut job - I'd imagine there's a school shooting in your community's future.

That's how, I think, they happen - having been a kid who lived through lots of school shootings.

Henry said...

but few want to eliminate it, even if people die

The question is not what, but how.

There is a huge medical establishment, including government agencies, medical school researchers, hospital administrations, doctor's practices, pharmacies, and insurance companies that all say that homeopathy is not medicine. Government won't allow false labeling, researchers won't recommend, hospitals won't stock, doctors won't prescribe, pharmacists don't fill, and insurance companies won't cover.

So how do you stop people from wasting their money? How do you physically stop them from buying very expensive water over the counter?

Fernandinande said...

The establishment powers are doing everything in their power to undermine Osaka's win.

Williams seems to be the embodiment of wonderful loserosity since everyone has now forgotten about McCain.

Henry said...

For the record, Serena Williams wasn't warned by Chair Umpire Ramos for breaking a homeopathic racquet.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The real winner is not an asshole.

Fernandinande said...

On there other hand, females accused of attempted murders are treated with much greater leniency than male offenders.

Chivalry and attractiveness bias in police officer forensic judgments in Israel

"Female offenders were treated more forgivingly than male offenders. Nonetheless, analysis of blame attributions shows that attractive offenders are blamed more than unattractive offenders. Women were also found to dispense severe punishments more than men."

HT Sailer.

hawkeyedjb said...

If busting your racket and throwing a tantrum aren't cause to be penalized, why have rules about busting rackets or throwing tantrums? Why not just "whatever you wanna do, kids?"

I often thought that John Mcenroe was given an unfair advantage, in that he was allowed to stop the match and take a break whenever he was tired. He just threw a tantrum, and play would stop for a few minutes. His opponents, who were always more gentlemanly, weren't allowed to say "Hey, I'm tired. Can I take a break?"

Ken B said...

NS is making a foolish assumption. It is possible the coach saw Serena looking and checked the stands. Plus it actually is his job to enforce the rules. That includes checking the coaches while no ball is in play. Plus SW *said* she saw the coach's signal but just thought it was a thumbs up. (That makes no sense.) So NS is wrong. Wrong in echelon.

pokerone said...

Have I got this right, the head of the Women's Tennis Association is named Steve? WTF? At this point it's like they are purposely beclowning themselves.

When Jean Paul Sartre wrote, "No Exit," could he possibly have thought of a woman like Serena on the couch? Harridan.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Segregation, racial and by gender, is the only workable way to effect the bizarre standards the Left is suggesting these days. And I don’t think that’s unintended. Affluent progs are much more comfortable fighting for the downtrodden when they can keep them at arm’s length.

gilbar said...

Ken B means it is possible the Ref saw Serena looking.

But HERE! the coach was making a "thumb up" signal? Isn't that a White Supremacy signal like an OK?? Aren't ALL signals White Supremacy Signals? How on earth is a poor black girl (that is A Mother!!) supposed to be able to compete; with All This Racism going on???

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

What White middle-class person wants to share a space with a perpetually aggrieved Sister? Not a single one, of any ideological bent.

Michael K said...


Blogger jaydub said...
I'm boycotting tennis over this. Before, I was just ignoring it, but now I'm actively boycotting it.


Me too, if you will pardon the cultural appropriation.

rhhardin said...

Steven Potter recommends wearing black socks with tennis outfits.

George Grady said...

Of course the WTA said that Serena Williams was the victim of a double standard. It's the Women's Tennis Association, and that's why it was founded by Billie Jean King back in the 70's. That's as predictable as a union siding with a worker over management regardless of what actually happened. That's the WTA's role.

William said...

Superstars in every sport get treated differently by the officials of those sports. Joe DiMaggio had a wider ball zone, Michael Jordan got to pack an overnight bag when he travelled. The fact that Serena was not given greater latitude for her tantrum was a violation of this unwritten rule of a double standard for superstars. The double standard should be enforced equally for all superstars and not just for male superstars........I think an official with more tact and diplomatic skills could have handled the situation better, but such an official would have to be quite a bit better than the average official. On the other hand, Serena was way off the mark for her behavior........None of this does the sport of tennis any good. The official's career as an official is over. It is interesting to note how the SJWs are instinctively siding with the wealthy athlete over the modestly paid official. In past confrontations tennis brats have had with officials, the press was nearly always on the side of the official........When you stop to think about it, isn't athletic ability such as Serena possesses a birth inheritance. In a more equitable society, she should be made to wear galoshes whilst playing so as to give those less favored by birth an equal chance.

Dude1394 said...

So either stop all the coaching or get rid of the rule altogether.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

The Crack Emcee said...

There's just no enforcement of reality's parameters whatsoever.

To whom, exactly, do you wish to give the power of enforcing reality's parameters? That seems an awful lot of power to give someone, especially since, as they say, power corrupts.

Personally, I don't trust anyone with that much power, and think we are better off living with the problems resulting from a lack of enforcement than living with the problems of enforcement in the hands of any human.

Tank said...

I admire Osaka for overcoming the double standard.

Curious George said...

"Joe DiMaggio had a wider ball zone"


Let me guess. Chess Club in High School, right?

rcocean said...

Agree. It was stupid of the umpire to push himself into the center of attention.
He literally made a US Open all about him.

The coaching warning was chickenshit. Williams' calling him a "thief" should have been met with a warning that further abuse would lead to the loss of game - per the rules.

Its amazing how badly run tennis is, considering how incredibly simple their game is. Two people, an umpire, a small court and a net. They even have sensors now that make all the line calls.

Not Sure said...

@Curious George: I assumed he was referring to Marilyn Monroe

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

If Williams wants equality she can earn her bread by playing against Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal.

If she wants to be a crusader for "women's rights", that baby-killing shemale BJ King beat her to it decades ago.

Women's professional tennis is joke.

rcocean said...

At 37, Serena is on her way out. And she knows it. Her game is based on power and speed and you start losing that past 35.

Osaka is 5-11 and fast and strong. She's the future of women's tennis.

rcocean said...

Why women cry "sexism" when they only play 3 sets to the men's five is beyond me.

Or is that good sexism?

rcocean said...

I haven't been boycotting Tennis. I just find it boring.

Basically, you've had the Williams Sisters, Feder, and a couple other Euros winning 80% of the Grand Slam tournaments over the last 12 years.

I'll give Serena this, at least she doesn't grunt and scream. That's the other thing that drove me away. I had keep the sound off. Every ball hit in women's tennis sounded like trying to lift 150 lbs.

rcocean said...

"So either stop all the coaching or get rid of the rule altogether."

Agree. Get rid of it. So what if they get hand signals from the coach. What could they actually signal that would be of any use.

"Hit the ball harder" "Hit the ball between the lines" "rush the net" "Stay back".

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I have my personal opinion that maybe the chair umpire should not have pushed Serena to the limit,

And I have my personal opinion that Serena needs to "man up" and stop being such a reactionary pussy.

Get bigger limits.

Etienne said...

If you break your racket in anger, you should be ejected.

She should take her 1.8 million pay and go take a pill.

rcocean said...

There's a big push in the Japanese media to claim Osaka as one of their own. But, supposedly there's some grass roots resistance.

She's lived in the USA since she was 3, she's 5-11, her father is Hatian, and she can't speak Japanese well.

A lot of japanese don't really consider her one of them. But they're hungry for sports heroes so they might accept her.


rehajm said...

She should take her 1.8 million pay and go take a pill.

This shocked me. Women's winner got 3.8 million. Golf is waay behind...

Leland said...

so I don't get the racist accusation?

You have to see it from Crack's point of view. He sees everything by the color of people's skin, and then calls them racist.

Pianoman said...

Let's review what happened:

Serena's coach was giving her signals from the sidelines. The referee caught him doing it, and issued a warning. After the match, the coach admitted that he was doing it, but that it was OK somehow because "everyone does it". So the referee was correct in issuing the warning.

Serena goes crazy after losing a game, and starts in about how she never cheats, and her daughter, and her integrity, etc etc etc. The referee did nothing. He didn't argue with her. He let her air out her frustration, even as Serena started demanding an apology. She did that more than once. She also stated that he would never referee another of her matches. Throughout this whole tirade, he didn't DO ANYTHING that would have influenced the match.

After losing another game, Serena decided that her racket was to blame, and she slammed it to the ground, destroying it. That's when the referee issued the second infraction, and deducted a point. Nobody is allowed to destroy their rackets, men or women.

Serena then goes crazy again, starts in berating the referee, and calls him a "thief" for making the call. She did that multiple times, while still demanding an apology.

That's when he called the third infraction, and deducted a game. Then Serena called over the US Open officials, and started wailing and screaming about how men aren't treated this way.

It seems to me that the referee did exactly what he was supposed to do -- issued a warning (when the coach was throwing hand signals from the stands), deducted a point (when Serena destroyed her racket), and deducted a game (when Serena called him a thief).

He did nothing wrong, and Serena is now using the Gender Card to somehow claim that she was treated differently. She's a poor sportsman.

A big reason why we like to watch sporting events is to see sports heroes triumph over adversity. The Bears/Packers game last night was a good example of this -- Aaron Rodgers goes down with an injury early in the game, then returns in the second half to lead his team to a stunning victory. Had Serena overcome her emotions and come back for a victory over Osaka, it would have been one of the greatest moments of her career and an amazing story.

But because she allowed her emotions to get the best of her, the story is now all about how she was somehow treated differently because of her gender.

Again -- the referee did NOTHING WRONG. Serena was the one who destroyed a racket after being given a proper warning, and Serena is the one who called a referee a "thief" and wouldn't stop berating him. She deserved all the penalties that she received, and I'm glad she lost. Nobody likes a bad sportsman.

President-Mom-Jeans said...

Crack, I'll give you the same response as the Chair Umpire should have given to Serena. Shut your fucking mouth, you whiny entitled cunt.

The world owes you nothing, and nothing is what you will get. Go be homeless somewhere where they don't have free wi-fi.

Birches said...

Serena is a bully. This is obvious to anyone who has no reason to fear her.

Kevin said...

social entities that have a chronic need to enhance their internal cohesion and their shared sense of moral order.

We see this play out every day. Today's version is:

"The ref penalized Serena of looking to her coach in the stands. Serena was outraged that he’d accuse her of cheating. He penalized her again. She protested that he penalized her for being as angry on court as men are. Fans agreed, and protested loudly. Men rarely get penalized for what Serena did. She told the ref he was sexist. She called him a liar and a thief. At one point she was so frustrated that she smashed her racquet to pieces. Even with vocal support of the crowd, she lost the match."

The ref did not penalize her for coaching, she received a warning which altered nothing.

Commentators noticed she was responding to the hand signals, positioning herself closer to the net which helped her and which Serena must have also known. Thus, she was now in the situation of losing a match while getting an advantage, something the media might pick up on and turn into Monday's headline.

That's not good for Nike, which is featuring her in its commercials about character.

Serena then smashes her racquet, which is everyone knows is a violation and was assessed a point penalty, as would any player in that position.

And when she continued to get angry she yelled at the ref without repercussion, until she crossed the line and called him a "thief" for "stealing" a point from her -- the point which she got for smashing her racquet.

At this point she was charged a game penalty, just as others like John McEnroe had.

And now, this is being turned into a chorus of people repeating falsehoods that this had something to do with her gender, when it really had everything to do with her reputation and her endorsement money.

Here is Serena in her own words:

"He took a point from me after he alleged I was cheating, and I wasn't cheating. I had a good conversation with him: 'You know my character. You know me really well.' I don't even call for an on-court coach. He said, 'I understood what you are saying,'" Williams explained after the match.

"Then when I sat down, I said, 'Just to be clear, I can understand what you saw. It may have looked [like] I was getting coaching, but that's what I do. I'd rather lose than have to cheat to win.' I don't need to cheat to win. He was cool. He was like, 'I get it.' We were on the same page, we understood each other ..."


You think the WTA wouldn't rather talk about discrimination in sports rather than whether their biggest star was caught cheating in the US Open Final?

chickelit said...

I agree with Crack - they should have let her wear that cat suit. It made her feel sexy and that’s a tough illusion to pull off.

Jupiter said...


"Serena then goes crazy again, starts in berating the referee, and calls him a "thief" for making the call. She did that multiple times, while still demanding an apology."

You left out the part where she sat down and shouted "Don't talk to me!". Which instruction Ramos apparently obeyed. Then she pouted for a few seconds, before going back to yammering about her integrity.

I feel sorry for her kid. But I guess we can hope someone else will mostly raise it.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

It was the French Open that banned the catsuit, not the US Open. Oh well, to Crack they all juss wypipo.

William said...

Pianoman: That's a fair summary of the events. Still, it would have been better for the sport and better for the official personally if he had demonstrated exceptional restraint and had not responded to Serena's tirade. His response was reasonable, but you give superstars more latitude. That's the way the world works. This is now one big, grade A mess.

BamaBadgOR said...

I did not watch and will not watch the "highlights" but am wondering why any man would want to be involved in any way with women's sports (and other things) given the possible allegations of discrimination, etc. Segregation by the sexes may not be such a bad idea.

jeremyabrams said...

She crushed those rackets on purpose to draw the penalty, and berated the official to draw a penalty as well. That way, Osaka's win looks tainted, and it's all still about Serena.

She is a vile woman.

TRISTRAM said...

Find me a guy who enjoys being on the receiving end of a harpy attack and I'll show you a feminist beta male.

The Crack Emcee said...

Ignorance is Bliss said...

"To whom, exactly, do you wish to give the power of enforcing reality's parameters?"

I can always spot who's stupid by who assumes I mean we'd pick someone.

mockturtle said...

It most certainly did NOT change the course of the match!! And calling the outcome 'controversial', as many media sources have done, is ridiculous.

TreeJoe said...

"I've never cheated in my life. I have a daughter and I stand for whats right for her." - Serena Williams, immediately before her coach acknowledged he was signaling her (cheating).

You know the funny thing about hand signals? They are practiced. You know the funny thing about practicing hand signals? It means you prepared for and planned to cheat.

This athlete, who is being lionized, was just called out as a liar by her own coach, lied while referencing her daughter, and exploded at a ref while losing a game (and she was losing).

She's put herself to shame. She should be shunned.

Henry said...

I can always spot who's stupid by who assumes I mean we'd pick someone.

You're being evasive.

The Crack Emcee said...

That's one impressive blind spot y'all are nursing. 114 posts and you guys STILL can't bring yourselves to deal with the main issue - the double standard - as you continue to grumble about your own head trips (outside of reality) instead.

Чикелит said...

"I agree with Crack - they should have let her wear that cat suit. It made her feel sexy and that’s a tough illusion to pull off."

Wypipo made skinny-assed Sarah Jessica Horseface into a sex symbol, so I wouldn't talk about tastes. Most white women, liked by whites, look like Holocaust survivors, so really? Y'all need to stop. The universal image of a woman looks more like Serena than Twiggy.

Sebastian said...

"She crushed those rackets on purpose to draw the penalty, and berated the official to draw a penalty as well. That way, Osaka's win looks tainted, and it's all still about Serena. She is a vile woman."

Since the violations were entirely obvious, she also played the gender card, forcing women to take sides, tainting the notion that rules apply the same way to all, reinforcing the corrupt feminist idea that women are special.

FIDO said...

Translation: she is black and gets cut slack. The racism of low expectations.

Why was Osaka able to keep her shit together but Serena was not?

dgstock said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Francisco D said...

When I played basketball in HS, I was very critical of referees who made bad calls, mostly it seemed, against my team. I thought they had an agenda with my team as the victim, of course.

As a senior, I refereed a freshman intramural game. The kids were whipping up and down the court so fast, I was completely confused.

Now I accept that referees are human and make mistakes. This mistakes are part of the game and tend to even out over the course of a season. Outside the heat of the moment, most mature athletes probably understand that.

chickelit said...

“Waikiki made skinny-assed Sarah Jessica Horseface into a sex symbol, so I wouldn't talk about tastes. Most white women, liked by whites, look like Holocaust survivors, so really? Y'all need to stop.”

Double down on the ugh.

FullMoon said...

Martha said...

Noted in NYTimes comment section—

Rewatch the game following the one game penalty. Osaka served that game and purposely hit the ball into the net repeatedly. Osaka lost that game 40-0. So Serena was made whole again AND STILL MANAGED TO LOSE THE SET, MATCH, and her cooL.
9/10/18, 8:26 AM


That is a class act, or was it? Japanese/Haitian intentionally humiliating the American Icon is response to the loss of WW2 and the theft of donations intended to rebuild Haiti

Rick said...

That's one impressive blind spot y'all are nursing. 114 posts and you guys STILL can't bring yourselves to deal with the main issue - the double standard

Note the assumption of a double standard. I've never seen or heard of a match with a male player screaming at the umpire for getting caught violating a rule. I'd like to know the population size these discerning standard evaluators were able to put together on such short notice.

dgstock said...

What pianoman said.

Commentator on the match noted hand signals from coach and later observed that Serena changed her tactics in response. So, cheat.

Busted racket in show of temper: automatic violation.

Berated the umpire on just about every changeover, plus "thief".

The woman could not shut her mouth.

McEnroe was fined a game penalty in 1987. Don't know of other examples..

buwaya said...

Sarah Jessica Horseface was a sex symbol only to white women, probably because not being pretty, and "of a certain age" besides, she was relatable to everywoman.

Men (unless they were gay) didn't watch that show.

buwaya said...

Osaka is nearly as dark as Williams.
And even at her age, not better looking. IMHO. Neither are beauties.
And she is of course also female.
The Williams-pleading here is purely tribal, and not racial, looking at it objectively. I'm not sure what the double standards here consist of, as whatever it is was also applied to the benefit, or not, of Osaka, as it is a two party zero-sum game.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

The Crack Emcee said...

I can always spot who's stupid by who assumes I mean we'd pick someone.

You previously said There's just no enforcement of reality's parameters whatsoever. It seemed, to me, in context, that you thought this was a bad thing.

Do you think that is a bad thing?

If you do think it is a bad thing, then by what means do you think reality's parameters could/should be enforced?

Personally, I think reality's parameters are already enforced. By reality. You* want to believe homeopathy works? Fine, your ability to believe is within reality's parameters. You want homeopathy to actually work? Sorry, that is not within reality's parameters.

*I'm speaking of an abstract person who wants to believe. Though I'm responding to Crack, in this case I am not using you to refer to Crack.

narciso said...

let me try again:


https://www.steynonline.com/8806/infame-and-great-place

Rick said...

Sarah Jessica Horseface was a sex symbol only to white women,

She was never a sex symbol. She was a symbol to average looking career women that they could have an exciting life outside of work including sex. But Crack can't let facts impede the narrative so we'll get whatever idiotic fantasies support his racism instead.

PM said...

It's worth noting 2 things:
A) the rule regarding coaching from the stands is a violation by itself, regardless of whether the player sees it or not. It's on the coach, not on the player. So Ms Williams' insistence that she was not a cheater, and her repeated demands for an apology, was irrelevant. Which brings up point B. The talking heads afterwards, led by Ms Evert, based their excuse for Serena's behavior around the fact the she 'may not know the rules.' After 20 years and nearly a hundred titles? Ridiculous.

Kevin said...

What do you say we just get Serena and the Umpire on Judge Judy and let her sort it out?

I'm sure we'd get to the heart of the matter in way less than 30 minutes.

Leland said...

Rewatch the game following the one game penalty. Osaka served that game and purposely hit the ball into the net repeatedly. Osaka lost that game 40-0. So Serena was made whole again

There's a lesson: a Japanese-Haitian paid reparations to an American woman, and it wasn't enough.

M Jordan said...

The Williams sisters are a huge turn-off. Bullies, braggarts, blowhards. At it was all on display here.

Yechh!

Yancey Ward said...

I watched the match- the tirade and consequences had not effect on the outcome- Osaka won it convincingly. Indeed, considering that Williams did almost all the unsportsmanlike conduct during Osaka's service games in the 2nd set, one could easily argue that Williams was using it as a tactic to disrupt Osaka's service game. It didn't work.

WK said...

Maybe the outcome would have been different if the rules were best of 5 sets...... we’ll never know....there always seem to be rules.

M Jordan said...

Rush’s take: It’s Hillary losing to Trump all over again. To a tee.

mockturtle said...

"She crushed those rackets on purpose to draw the penalty, and berated the official to draw a penalty as well. That way, Osaka's win looks tainted, and it's all still about Serena. She is a vile woman."

Yes!!!

Amadeus 48 said...

Let’s grade on a curve, and women who behave badly get unlimited do-overs. That seems fair.

FIDO said...

This is not my tribe, my sport, or my care. Since the Williams sisters joined, I am less likely to see some hot Russian chicks in short skirts, and so, my desire to watch womens tennis has lessened to (after yesterday), non-existent.

We celebrate sports for its adherence to the rules to discover quality and greatness. Putting a thumb on the scale defeats the purpose. This seems to be what the WTA has done, in search of a 'urban demographic' in a rather low profit sport.

Amadeus 48 said...

. Bad calls are part of the game and are usually distributed a bit randomly. I don’t think that official was out to get Serena. She, like most stars, likes it when all the doubtful calls go her way. And usually they do.
Boohoo, poor little Serena.

Rabel said...

Yeah, whatever.

What matters about women's tennis is whatever Gabriela is doing right now.

I can carry a crush a long time.

chuck said...

The WTA won't recover its reputation anytime soon.

Earnest Prole said...

There's a principle in professional referee practice that a power struggle with a player should (if at all possible) be avoided/defused rather than exacerbated, for the simple reason that a professional sports match is paid entertainment and most spectators are not entertained by (nor wish to pay for) a referee-player power struggle.

In other words, the show's the thing.

readering said...

Thanks for the memory, Rabel.

LilyBart said...

Williams is the 'thief' - she stole Osaka's special moment by making it all about herself.

n.n said...

Osaka is denied her victory because of... Asian privilege.

the problem with tennis is failure to follow the rule of law. Sound familiar?

Prosecutorial discretion. Some children are placed in cages, while others are lost on a trail of tears, while others yet are left behind, and, finally, the politically congruent (i.e. profitable) are subsidized.

Bill Peschel said...

The madness of the WTA is in assuming male tennis players are judged to a different standard than women.

If so, so what? Men and women don't compete together.

Of course, I assume that women tennis players are smart enough to recognize the difference and adjust their play and tactics as a result.

The WTA doesn't agree.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

Renee,

Umm Osaka is half black... Mom is Japanese, dad is from Haiti... so I don't get the racist accusation?

Precisely. Osaka is, remember, exactly as Black as Barack Obama, and Blacker than Tiger Woods. As well as exactly as female as Williams. Yet it's all race and sex. Of course.

Re: coaching, if "everybody does it," who was doing it for Osaka, hmmm? ISTR that her father coached her before his death; don't know whether she even had a coach in attendance. But that's different, because shut up.

The Crack Emcee said...

Ignorance is Bliss said...

"If you do think it is a bad thing, then by what means do you think reality's parameters could/should be enforced?"

If you don't use logic, it will never occur to you as an option.

The Crack Emcee said...

Henry said...

"You're being evasive."

I'm sick of answering the same stupid question (and it is a stupid question because it assumes SOMEONE has to choose) just because some people don't have any logic in their lives.

hstad said...

All these excuses for Serena Williams, an overpaid brat!

David Begley said: ".....that men get coaching from the stands all the time. If true, the problem with tennis is failure to follow the rule of law. Sound familiar?...."

Sorry David, that's like arguing with a Cop that everyone else was speeding too? Cop's answer, "..It's your lucky day because I picked you for the ticket...."

The Crack Emcee said...

M Jordan said...

"The Williams sisters are a huge turn-off. Bullies, braggarts, blowhards. At it was all on display here."

Or they're crushing a sport that didn't want them - guess which one blacks see?

sbb said...

Another insight into the world of Serena from the wayback machine:

In an interview, John McEnroe called Serena the "greatest woman's tennis player of all time". His (female) interviewer asked why he qualified it with the word "woman's". McEnroe was a bit baffled by that, and explained that if she were playing the Men's circuit, she'd be ranked around 700th. Massive fireworks from the media ensued.

Serena was asked to comment. Did she let McEnroe off the media hook, and agree (or at least offer an opinion) of where she would rank on the Men's tour? No. Instead she tweeted out:

"Dear John, I adore and respect you but please please keep me out of your statements that are not factually based. I've never played anyone ranked "there" nor do I have time. Respect me and my privacy as I'm trying to have a baby. Good day sir"

As someone else said above - a vile woman.

hstad said...

The Crack Emcee, making his usual argument about race? LOL - you do know that the player who beat Serena was also black (1/2 Haitian Black 1/2 Japanese). Oh yeah, "Crack" is more interested in the Black American version because it gives him 'street cred' - LOL, childish arguments defending a woman who's wealth, estimated by Forbes, is well over $170 million.

The Crack Emcee said...

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

"Osaka is, remember, exactly as Black as Barack Obama, and Blacker than Tiger Woods. As well as exactly as female as Williams."

But Serena is blacker than all of them put together - she's from South Central - and that trumps them all.

The Crack Emcee said...

""Crack" is more interested in the Black American version"

That's right. Who have you morons thought I've been defending every day? Haitians?

Oh Man, y'al crack me UP!



Pianoman said...

Hey maybe Serena can play Jordi Arconada (700th rated player in the world right now) in a 5-set match. She can pledge the money to her kid's college fund.

Wonder if she'd win a single game.

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/players/jordi-arconada/ad49/overview

I hadn't thought that Serena did all this as a match tactic, but hell, why not -- managers get themselves thrown out of MLB games all the time as a tactic to try and fire up the team. When you're getting your ass kicked, you'll try anything to rattle your opponent.

rhhardin said...

Some top ranked woman who is married to a low ranked husband (say around 700) said at the time that there's no comparison. The men beat the woman completely, it's a different game entirely.

rhhardin said...

I can't play tennis at all. It's all ball fetching outside the fence.

rhhardin said...

I have a decent serve however.

DanTheMan said...

>>It is interesting to note how the SJWs are instinctively siding with the wealthy athlete over the modestly paid official.

The race and gender of the parties is determinative. Class is only a tiebreaker.

Actual facts? No need for them....

hstad said...

".....Djokovic Is merely saying what people want to hear. He can’t really believe that...."

Not sure what Djokovic believes, but he is smart not to get involved with the women/race mob, to much downside for him

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

"Men (unless they were gay) didn't watch that show."

That explains why Crack's go-to for a supposedly attractive white woman is Sarah Jessica Horseface.

mockturtle said...

Rhhardin says: I can't play tennis at all. It's all ball fetching outside the fence.

When the two-handed backhand was 'discovered' by Chris Evert, I began employing it with great results and it became my greatest strength. Even beat my husband a few times. Alas, a knee replacement in 2006 ended tennis for me.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

The Crack Emcee said...

If you don't use logic, it will never occur to you as an option.

Okay, let's assume that I'm too stupid to use logic, and too ignorant to know what the possible options are.

I would like to ask you, as humbly and politely as possible, what option do you suggest for enforcing reality's parameters?

langford peel said...

Why is anybody surprised by these monkey shines?

She is your typical angry black woman...she thinks that the laws and the rules don't apply to her black ass.

Nothing to see here.

DanTheMan said...

>> I would like to ask you, as humbly and politely as possible, what option do you suggest for enforcing reality's parameters?

Arguing with crazy is crazy.

Jim at said...

If you continue to make excuses for bad behavior, don't be surprised if you get more bad behavior.

This will not end well.

buwaya said...

Hmm.

The Wiki bios say that both Williams (all the sisters) and Miss Osaka spent most of their lives being professionally coached. The Williams family spent little time in Compton, living mainly in Florida.

langford peel said...

"Don't you know who I am? I'm Rick Jame.....err....Serena Williams bitch!"

Ignorance is Bliss said...

DanTheMan said...

Arguing with crazy is crazy.

That's Crack's problem, not mine.

PackerBronco said...

The progs have had the sport of tennis in their cross hairs ever since they discovered that Love doesn't win.

William said...

McEnroe's tantrums were considered to be full of sound and fury signifying nothing. Serena's tantrums are of the same nature. This wish to make Serena's outburst demonstrative of something meaningful about race, sex, or tennis is misguided......I don't know whether her outburst was angrier, or punished worse, or more malicious than than those of Natase or McEnroe, but the effort to parse the difference is itself exemplary of sound and fury signifying nothing.

Trumpit said...

"The Wiki bios say that both Williams (all the sisters) and Miss Osaka spent most of their lives being professionally coached. The Williams family spent little time in Compton, living mainly in Florida."

Serena is richer than rich. She should give something back to Compton that is basically a dump. I mean the kids of Compton, so they don't get seduced into gangs.

buwaya said...

Sailer highlights this piece from an editor at Quartz -

Serena Williams notches a win for women

"My husband isn’t a fan of Serena Williams, and while his cheering for her opponents never much fazed me before, these days it fills me with unspeakable rage."

"How my husband could know this, and know how I feel about it, and still root against Williams was beyond me. It felt like a personal betrayal. We began to argue, basically mirroring the dispute we had just seen on television, with my husband calmly pronouncing Williams guilty of bad sportsmanship and me getting fairly worked up over his lack of empathy."

Now, this is an educated woman - or at least exactly the sort that makes up the great and good -

"Heather Landy has been global news editor and managing editor at Quartz, and is editor of the new Quartz At Work. She joined Quartz in 2014 from American Banker Magazine, where she was editor in chief. She previously wrote for Bloomberg News, The Washington Post, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Heather has a BSJ and MSJ from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism."

That is, an excellent representative of the crowd at the US Open. The real lesson here has very little to do with Williams, but a great deal to do with Heather Landy. The corruption and decadence of Heather Landy is THE American problem.

hstad said...

"....rehajm said...
"This shocked me. Women's winner got 3.8 million. Golf is waay behind..."

Not really, U.S. Open winner got $2.1 million, but they play every week for checks well over $1 million (for winner) even in 'Podunk' USA. BTW, the FedEx Cup winner in golf gets, $10 million this year - that my friend is not 'chicken feed'. But all of this is arguing about the pennies for lesser players. The endorsements for both sports is massive and is where the real money is made. Tiger Woods in his prime only played 8 tournaments in a year, yet still garnered over $100 million per annum in endorsement money.

~ Gordon Pasha said...

Kendo has a ranking system and the highest award is 8 Dan. There is an annual 8 Dan tournament in Japan. 90% of the time the youngest 8 Dan wins. I don't see anyone in kendo complaining about this.

DanTheMan said...

>>Arguing with crazy is crazy.

>> That's Crack's problem, not mine.

Trying to understand crazy, is crazy.

Rabel said...

"Even beat my husband a few times."

sandbagging-
When a player in any game chooses (on purpose) to not play their best. Normally this is because they are too superior, they want to hustle you, or they are too lazy to play their best with nothing on the line.

Francisco D said...

"McEnroe's tantrums were considered to be full of sound and fury signifying nothing. Serena's tantrums are of the same nature. This wish to make Serena's outburst demonstrative of something meaningful about race, sex, or tennis is misguided."

Yes. I agree.

However, this thread and the one yesterday was not so much about poor sportsmanship (and the terrible behavior of the crowd) as it was an excuse to argue about racial and gender politics. There seems to be a pent-up demand for such discussions.

RobinGoodfellow said...

“Just maybe changed — not maybe, but he did change the course of the match.”

Williams lost 6-2, 6-4. How, exactly, did the judge “change th course of the match”? She got trounced. Then whined about it.

And, apparently, it was both sexist and racist—even though both competitors were black women. I guess in a post-modern world words mean whatever you want them to mean.

DanTheMan said...

>>racial and gender politics

Pleonasm!

Henry said...

they're crushing a sport that didn't want them

They're crushing a sport that couldn't wait for them to turn pro and desperately wants them in every final.

Henry said...

I'm trying to think of a sport that doesn't want celebrity-level champions.

Golf?

Nope.

Earnest Prole said...

However, this thread and the one yesterday was not so much about poor sportsmanship (and the terrible behavior of the crowd) as it was an excuse to argue about racial and gender politics.

It's like catnip to cats and gasoline to mischievous boys.

Francisco D said...

Most of us who played competitive sports (high school for me) have engaged in poor sportsmanship, at one time or another, because of emotional immaturity. Hopefully, we learn from experience and increased understanding about the nature of life.

It annoys me when people try to make it a political issue. It's not.

Henry said...

So 80s.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

I dunno, The Crack Emcee. I'd wager than an awful lot of Haitians would rather be in Compton.

n.n said...

WTA is like Harvard.

>>racial and gender politics

Pleonasm!


Diversity.

SweatBee said...

I read all of these, so far, wondering if anyone was going to address this - since it's the issue - but nope

Funny, I read all the posts before yours and noticed several that discussed whether there is a double standard.

Serena keeps being compared to McEnroe, so I will note that McEnroe was once fined $6,000 (in 1980's money) for yelling, "You can't be serious!" at an umpire.

I'm pretty sure it's already been posted here, but here is a video compilation of the code violations that got McEnroe disqualified from the 1990 Australian Open. Look at how mild his "racket abuse" was compared to Serena's. Also, listen when the guy assesses him for swearing. "Ken [LastName] overheard McEnroe swearing." He got thrown out for OVERHEARD swearing!

The only way a "double standard," as compared to the *male players* affects Serena's ability to win her tennis matches is if her opponents are male players. So long as she is being held to the same standard as her opponent, then this 'double standard' did not cause her to lose the match. There are different standards for the men's and women's sports in lots of sports. One might be able to make the case that the women's game would be more "exciting" and therefore attract more money if the women's game were officiated less strictly, but even that is quite a stretch. You're going to be able to charge more for a ticket to watch five sets of tennis than you are for a ticket to watch three sets regardless of whether penalties are assessed for tantrum-throwing.

That being said, Carlos Ramos is a Gold Badge umpire who is known for being a stickler for the rules, yes, including against the men. He's given Murray a code violation for saying the umpiring was "stupid," and Djokovic one for swinging his racket kinda sorta toward the umpire. That's why Serena had to resort to saying, "I've seen other men call OTHER umpires several things..." She's couching her complaint about differences between individual officials as though it had something to do with women's rights in general.

Anonymous said...

It would be nice if the WTA had the same level of awareness as the Open Committee and admitted that Serena had misbehaved and was deserving of the discipline handed down. There was nothing sexist about the ref's decisions. It wasn't a male versus female decision it was the application of the rules to Serena and her coach's misbehavior. What the WTA and Serena are asking is that the rules not apply to them because they are women. Do they really want that?

Two things I learned from playing and watching sports: one, you get the refs you get that day and you'd better adapt to them; two, try to never put yourself in a position where a refs call - good or bad - can mean the difference between a win and a loss. The umpire made it very clear that he was calling it "close". Serena has been playing long enough that she should have known not to try to show up the umpire. Serena screwed up and I am in sure in cooler moments she will admit that. In the meanwhile Osaka, the young talent, was about to embarrass the old lady with a straight set victory. I think that and fatigue were what really did Serena in.

Christy said...

Nephew, at 6, got so mad at another soccer player he got up in the child's face and screamed "Baby!". You'll be glad to know that on the way to winning two high school football championship rings, he developed into a good sport.

Perhaps the fierceness and anger that worked for Serena as a young player in a racist sport no longer serves a wealthy and honored athlete.

Pianoman said...

@Francisco: So true ... I played tennis in HS, had a good serve, but not a good power game. So I relied on cut shots, lobs, and trickery. It got one of my teammates so riled up, he hurled his racket into the fence. His day was over after taking 5 laps around the field.

Any sport or game will cause emotions to boil up. You have to control it in order to succeed.

I didn't know Osaka's dad was Haitian. So both of them are black, and both are women ... and somehow, it's still all about gender and race. Hilarious.

Maybe Serena can start a new ad campaign with Nike. "Believe in something, even if it it makes no sense at all. JUST PLAY THE GENDER CARD."

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Sweatbee for your analysis and the reminders that the men have had their problems, too. This is similar to baseball where one umpire is known to have a big strike zone while another may be known to have a much tighter strike zone. The players adapt. They don't cry that they are being discriminated against.

My personal feeling is that the toll of playing at such a high level so soon after giving birth finally proved too much for Serena's body and when that began to go out the discipline she had shown all year went with it. beside the fact that she is 37 one only had to look at her physique to know that she was not in "prime" condition even for someone that age.

mockturtle said...

Per Rabel: sandbagging-
When a player in any game chooses (on purpose) to not play their best. Normally this is because they are too superior, they want to hustle you, or they are too lazy to play their best with nothing on the line.


Hah! You obviously never met my husband. He would never have 'let me win'. We were both very competitive. He usually beat me at golf, too.

mockturtle said...

Oh, and 'sandbagging' usually refers to playing intentionally poorly to increase your handicap [in golf].

Leland said...

But Serena is blacker than all of them put together - she's from South Central - and that trumps them all.

Actually, she's from Saginaw, MI. She was raised and home schooled for a few years in Compton, before moving at age 9 to West Palm Beach, FL, which I guess does Trump them all.

Kevin said...

Williams' US Open blow-ups

2009 semi-final vs Kim Clijsters: Williams threatens to shove the ball down the throat of a lineswoman who called her for a foot fault, earning her second violation of the match. She's penalised a point, which hands the match to Clijsters. Loses 6-4, 7-5.

2011 final vs Sam Stosur: Williams shouts as Stosur is trying to return a ball. Because Stosur had a play and the shout was intentional, she's penalised a point and incorrectly says umpire Eva Asderaki was "the one that screwed me over last time here". Calls her "a hater", "a loser" and "unattractive inside". Loses 6-2, 6-3.

2018 final vs Naomi Osaka: Receives three code violations — coaching, racquet abuse, verbal abuse — in the second set, losing a point then a game. She says this wouldn't have happened if she was a man. Loses 6-2, 6-4.

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