Getty Images The first question we have to ask ourselves is, are we holding Serena Williams to a double standard? Many didn’t mind it so much when John McEnroe or Jimmy Connors argued with umpires in major tournaments back in the day. But Williams is taking a lot of heat for her rant against chair umpire Eva Asderaki during Sunday’s U.S. Open final on Sunday.
Williams was fined $2,000 for her outburst, a “laughable” amount, according to Yahoo’s Busted Racquet. CBS tennis analyst Mary Carillo was even harsher in an interview Monday with Tim Brando of Yahoo Sports Radio.
“Serena doesn’t seem to understand how courtside microphones work. [...] She was surprised to know that all of that stuff she was saying to that woman was getting picked up. I don’t understand how she thinks that that stuff isn’t going out over the air.
“I don’t like bullies. I think they’re the scourge of the universe. [...] What happens in the sport of tennis is that there are no substitutions. The player has so much power on that court. If you throw her off the court, the match is over. It’s not like in any other team sport where someone is acting like an ass-clown and you can toss them out and the game continues. Believe me, tennis players have always understood how much power they have and they’ve pretty much always understand how much abuse they could dole out before they get in trouble.”
It does seem a bit incongruous for the most natty, staid sport in the world (next to cricket?) to allow participants to rail against its officials as fans, with hands folded in laps, look on. You can’t toss them, but perhaps umpires should be allowed to deduct points for continued sass. “That’s another point, Ms. Williams. Want to make it three?”
I would have liked to have seen that with McEnroe as well, by the way.
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- vikesfansteve - Sep 13, 2011 at 2:58 PM
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** Comment removed by lineswoman **.
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- ftbramwell - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:50 PM
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And I bet you are one of the few males on the planet with penis envy.
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- mojowheelz - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:07 PM
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Serena is talking to the ref and tells her “…don’t even look at me…”. Are you kidding me? Race, gender or where you were raised has nothing to do with that behavior. Poor sportmanship and classless behavior exist across all of those boundaries. Bravo to Mary Carillo for calling a duck a duck.
My daughter is 12 years old and has already figured out how best to react to this type of behavior…don’t patronize her sponsors. Two years ago when Serena threatened the linesperson, my daughter went upstairs and removed her poster of Serena…without provocation from any adult. She told me she no longer wanted a Wilson racket because Serena has one, and no longer wants to wear Nike because that is what Serena wears. When my daughter saw Serena’s behavior during the match on Sunday, she stated that “I am so bummed that she acts like that, I would love to cheer for an American player, but hate her attitude towards tennis and other people”…..Couldn’t have been prouder or said it better myself.
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- florida727 - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:30 PM
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Actually, you should be very proud as a parent. You obviously raised your daughter with morals and ethics. Too bad the same can’t be said for Serena (apparently)…
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- vikesfansteve - Sep 13, 2011 at 8:07 PM
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What’s the matter Ricky? Only you can swear on your blog. FYI UFC is for women & guys who like watching other guys wrestle each other.
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- 1historian - Sep 13, 2011 at 10:08 PM
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Being an old fart, indeed a CERTIFIED old fart, I must admit that I was unfamiliar with the term ‘ass clown’. I had heard it on occasion, but didn’t really know what it meant.
Now I know what it means, and in this case it fits.
Way to go, Mary – I didn’t think you had it in you.
I would love to say something really clever about SW’s going to hang out with the Kardashians, but I think just saying “SW hangs out with the Kardashians” is enough.
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- lunasceiling - Sep 14, 2011 at 1:59 AM
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I’ve always loved Serena’s game (which is NOT “all power,” actually), and I think she’d be fun to hang with…but there’s no denying she’s got issues with her temper. I’ve always kinda preferred Venus for that reason: her demeanor. I watched this latest incident all the way through (the feed from the Open’s official site didn’t cut away), and it made me cringe…and root for Sam Stosur.
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- psousa1 - Sep 14, 2011 at 2:08 PM
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I would love to have her talk like that to me in the sack.
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- florida727 - Sep 14, 2011 at 2:47 PM
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Especially the part about you not looking at her? Whew. That would be a relief…
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- beem15 - Sep 14, 2011 at 4:26 PM
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Nice sensational headline making it seem as if Mary Carillo was actually quoted as calling Serena an ass clown. Weak.
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- donaldallen - Sep 16, 2011 at 9:16 AM
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@beem15 You’re right and this seems to be a pattern in these columns on this site. You see it in the golf columns, too — quotes manipulated to make things a lot more sensational than they actually are. Unfortunately, this has gone on in the cheaper forms of journalism for a long time.
As for Serena, she’s a disgrace to the game. Would you want your young daughter, who has an interest in tennis, watching the way she behaves? It’s surprising, because she has an excellent role model in her older sister, who has always behaved in exemplary fashion on the court. She might also look to Raphael Nadal, who is loved by the fans partly because he’s a great player and partly because he’s such a great sportsman. He was raised well by his family (I’ve seen interviews with Uncle Toni where he makes it clear that if Raphael acts up on the court, he (Toni) is gone, done).
And no, this isn’t a sexist comment. I also hated McEnroe’s behavior (despite the fact that I did and do think he’s an artist with a tennis racquet). Connors, too. And Ilie Nastase, for that matter, another idiot from Connors’ era. My wife and I were at Roland Garros in 2003 and were watching an old-guys doubles match that included Nastase. There was a woman sitting not too far from us with a young child, and the child got noisy as Nastase was serving. He got ticked off, hit a ball at her and damned near hit her. He was allowed to continue, but we got up and left. It was pretty disgusting.
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- harveyballwanger - Sep 16, 2011 at 2:32 PM
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The problem was that her ass got in the way of the judges vision and they couldn’t see the ball.
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- limonlady69 - Sep 17, 2011 at 2:46 AM
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Bigots and more bovine scatology. Serena is not her sister and does need to act like her sister. Do you people really believe that your sons and daughters would not ever exhibit some bad behavior when in the heat of any game in which they are engaged.
Mojowheetz: I hope your daughter continues to play whatever sport she might endeavor, but there are times when one is playing badly and getting beaten by an opponent that you just might “lose” your temper. Of course, if you do there are the temper record keepers who will certainly torture you for it. So, much of these comments are just so much bovine scatology.
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- mojowheelz - Sep 18, 2011 at 12:29 PM
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Nice that you found a thesaurus that allowed you to say certain words without the threat of being censured…But why cows and not horses?
Look at the history of how the umpire has handled other players and you may retract your weak and narrow-minded opinion about this call being racially motivated. Stupid behavior does not have a color. What you should be asking yourself is why Serena would admit right after the match that she was unaware of the rule infraction she broke…really??? A professional in her sport does not know the rules; shame on her. And maybe you should read this article where Serena admits herself that she let her emotions get the best of her (http://www.nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44516882/ns/sports-tennis/). Showing her lack of class even absent of the emotion of a match, she still did not apologize for her personal attack on the umpire in this article. Serena felt during the match that she had a history with this umpire, but was mistaken as pointed out during the match. I hated this behavior when Connors and Mac did it, and hate it when Serena does it. A foul occurred, and penalty was called….end of story. The umpire did her job!
My daughter has a top five USTA ranking, while playing up an age division in the state we live. I have assured her that if she behaves poorly on the court when she is winning or losing she will forget what a racket looks like. The game is bigger than one player, and disrespect for another person or player on the court should not be tolerated. If you are so upset about your level of play, beat yourself up and don’t be so weak you lash out at others. What a person should be asking about Serena is this; when she performed poorly, why she felt it was alright to take it out on someone else. Personal integrity and responsibility.
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- limonlady69 - Sep 19, 2011 at 12:44 AM
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MOJO: I do not have a need to “find” a thesaurus, thank you very much. There was no threat of being censured re; the two words. BTW you mentioned “why not cows or horses,” I believe you should “find” a Webster’s, encyclopedia or a complete thesaurus and that question will be answered for you. Re: the bigot part of my statement I was referring to some of the other comments re: Serena, and was referring to the fact that in the heat of getting soundly beaten, her emotional outburst, and anger was something that does occur when people who play sports are losing. I did not, however, say or imply in any way that her behavior was appropriate. Nor did I imply that the “call” was racially motivated. It appears to me that “narrow minded opinions” are not only mine. Who are you tell me what I should have stated. Retraction for my comment, NOT. I do hope your child never “loses” her temper and has an emotional outburst, because it would probably devastate you to know that humans do sometimes have emotional outburst, right or wrong.
