Tennis Tantrum
This weekend my wife and I watched a lot of US Open coverage on the boob tube. Saturday night’s match between Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters was and will remain an unfortunate highlight of the tournament; not to mention a defining moment in Serena Williams’ career. Simply put, the behavior she displayed was nothing short of detrimental. Not just for her game, but for her reputation, her opponent, and the sport.
In the first set she received a code violation for racket abuse, which is a nice way of saying she lost her temper and broke her racket. Her game was off, she was losing, and it was getting to her emotionally. Towards the end of the game a foot foul was called by a line judge. There’s some debate as to whether the foot foul was a bad call but that’s insignificant. Nothing could excuse what happened next. Serena approached the line judge, waving her racket menacingly, and then gave her a verbal beat down to rival John McEnroe. I wasn’t sure what was said at first but they eventually replayed it with the sound focused and amplified. I was appalled. She had threatened the line judge with physical assault, complete with F-bombs. I won’t get any further into the nitty gritty of the exchange but Fox Sports has a pretty good run down of what happened and what was said (including the video) on their website under the heading Game, threat and match: Serena Williams passes point of no return.
The point I want to make is that whether we are public sports figures or regular shmoes we don’t have any excuse for being jerks. My dad always told my brother and me that two wrongs don’t make a right. It stuck with me and I try to live by it. Our actions and words are non-refundable. Once they’re let loose the ripple effect is fast on the move and sometimes the impact runs deep.
Who knows what negative effects will occur as a result of Serena’s actions. In the end she’ll be asking herself, “Was it worth it?” The answer is obviously no. Anytime you vilify someone else for your own benefit you are asking for trouble; especially when it’s being televised on a global scale. She’s been a role model, an example of integrity and good sportsmanship, for years. Those brief few moments could ruin all of that hard work.
Is it worth it? Never.
I’d love to know what your opinion on this story is. Be sure to comment below.
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Everyone has a bad day I suppose, but unfortunately people in a high profile position like that don't usually have the luxury of people quickly forgetting. She'll be focus of jokes on late night TV for a few weeks but pretty soon another celebrity will do something ridiculous and they'll focus on that. May lose a few sponsorships though, and that will hurt her the most.
I agree that we all have bad days but why ruin someone else's day because of it? I know she'll rebound but I think it's going to leave an indelible mark. One of the commentators during the Federer/Djokovic match last night said they didn't think she was dealt with harshly enough since they were allowing her to play the upcoming doubles match; that she should have been ejected from the entire tournament due to the seriousness of the violation. I can't help but agree even though I'm a big fan of hers. What kind of message does that send?
Oh yeah I'm not saying what she did was right by any means and she should definitely be ejected from the tournament. Someone making that much for playing a game really shouldn't have a lot to complain about. Most athletes these days seem to have forgotten what it means to be a good sportsman and good loser. Kids don't want to be basketball players to be good at the game or have a challenge, they just want to be filthy rich and have their name on a pair of shoes.
I was watching the “23 best Michael Jordan Moments” thing that ESPN made on a web site today and remembered how great he was. When he quit playing, I quit watching. He was the best there ever was but didn't gloat and act all thuggish like the basketball players today seem to. Basketball was the only sport I really followed when I was growing up and when he left I lost all interest.
Totally agree and I'm with you as far losing my interest in basket ball when Jordan left. He was the real deal. He inspired LeBron James to be the quality player he is and he wears the #23 jersey as a testament. We need more people like that in our sports and entertainment culture. Instead we have a bunch of morally bankrupt people whose interest is not in being a role model but making giant wads of cash. They don't care that impressionable kids are watching them and soaking all their bad behavior up like a sponge. Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals and was America's golden boy but also got caught driving drunk and smoking pot. He could play for the Dallas Cowboys with those creds. Some people might argue, “How many gold medals does a guy have to win before it's okay to hit the bong?” It's not about the amount of success or fame they achieve but the virtue and integrity that makes a celebrity a real role model. Where are the real role models??
Totally agree and I'm with you as far losing my interest in basket ball when Jordan left. He was the real deal. He inspired LeBron James to be the quality player he is and he wears the #23 jersey as a testament. We need more people like that in our sports and entertainment culture. Instead we have a bunch of morally bankrupt people whose interest is not in being a role model but making giant wads of cash. They don't care that impressionable kids are watching them and soaking all their bad behavior up like a sponge. Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals and was America's golden boy but also got caught driving drunk and smoking pot. He could play for the Dallas Cowboys with those creds. Some people might argue, “How many gold medals does a guy have to win before it's okay to hit the bong?” It's not about the amount of success or fame they achieve but the virtue and integrity that makes a celebrity a real role model. Where are the real role models??
A friend at work just told me all about how Jordan is a complete tool and how much of a jerk he was at his Hall of Fame induction ceremony. I feel deflated. I'm watching the induction speech on YouTube now to formulate my own opinion of it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMMBWJJPjSE
I don't think she was ever taught how to lose. Her and her sister are so use to winning everything and dominating the sport, losing is hard pill to swallow abviously. Her mouth was way out of control and there is no good excuse for that behavior ever.