Is Sexism Really To Blame For Serena Williams' Penalties?
Serena Williams broke the rules and was penalized for it but she says that men get away with breaking the rules all the time. Following the match she decried what she says is sexism and many agree. However when I look into archives I can see that Serena has a history of bad behavior, men do get penalized, and so do other women. Why would this incident be worse than others? Is this an incident of unreasonable feminist "social just warriors" in action or a just and honorable call out of bigoted behavior from the ump? Sexism in Tennis does exist and we have even seen recent examples, but is it fair to say this incident was the same?
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In her last US Open final, Serena Williams broke the rules.
Three rules, actually.
The first was when she was accused of coaching.
This is when her coach was sitting in the stands and doing hand signals to tell her essentially what to do, coaching her.
And that is against the rules.
The next came when she smashed her racket, and then she started insulting the umpire.
She was docked for this.
First a point, and then a whole game.
Afterward, she said that this was sexism because men have done so much worse and gotten away with it.
Why is it that when she has a bout of frustration, she gets penalized?
Now, a lot of people are agreeing with her and saying this is sexism.
In fact, some people within the WTA might actually be agreeing with her as well.
But in my personal opinion, this is not sexism.
It may be personal.
It may be a specific incident, and sometimes umpires don't behave the same in all circumstances.
People are different.
One umpire might give one person a warning.
This umpire might say, Serena, I'm not going to deal with your BS, and I'm going to penalize you for this.
There are articles to back up my opinion, but don't get me wrong.
I believe there actually is sexism in tennis.
We've got some incidents that happened with Serena Williams and some other players not too long ago.
But was this specific incident about sexism?
I'm gonna have to say the answer is no, and now I'm gonna show you why.
The first story from CNBC will get a little background on what happened.
Serena Williams was fined $17,000 for U.S.
Open final remarks, but it could prompt tennis to change its ways.
The fine handed to Serena Williams of $17,000 was relatively insignificant compared to the $1.85 million she received for finishing as runner-up at the U.S.
Open.
But the ramifications of what caused it continue to divide the world of tennis.
During Saturday's controversial final in which Naomi Osaka provided Japan with its first Tennis Grand Slam singles champion, Williams was cited three times for code violations in which she called the chair umpire Carlos Ramos a liar and a thief.
She also alleged he treated her differently than male players.
Williams, who is still seeking a record-equaling 24th Grand Slam singles title, was handed a warning for a coaching violation before being deducted a point for smashing her racket.
She then had a heated argument with Ramos, resulting in her being docked a game during the second set.
As the first violation was announced, Williams approached the umpire's chair to say she never takes coaching when on a competitive court, and would rather lose than cheat to win.
"'I'm here fighting for women's rights and for women's equality, and for all kinds of stuff, and for me to say thief and for him to take a game, it made me feel like it was a sexist remark,' said Williams after the final.
"'He's never took a game from a man, cause they said thief, for me it blows my mind.'"
However, Richard Ings, a former professional chair umpire who also used to be the ATP Tour Executive Vice President for Rules and Competition, felt it was Williams who needed to apologize.
We should not let her record, as glowing as it is, overshadow the fact that on this day, in this match, Williams was wrong, Ings said in the Sydney Morning Herald.
The decision made by Ramos had nothing to do with sexism or racism.
They had everything to do with observing clear breaches of the Grand Slam Code of Conduct and then having the courage to call them without fear or favor.
I'm worried that, in the culture war, many people are immediately turning to victimhood status to win their argument.
Should Serena Williams have been docked a point, docked a game, penalized, or fined?
Oh, that's an opinion.
And maybe, maybe not.
But the rules are clear.
Was she receiving coaching?
The first warning she got was for coaching.
Was it true?
The answer?
Yes, her coach admitted it.
When interviewed on ESPN Postmatch, Maratoglou admitted to the charge with the caveat that he is not alone in doing so on the tour.
tour.
Well, I mean, I am honest.
I was coaching," he said.
I don't think she looked at me.
That's why she didn't even think I was, but I was.
He also added, Osaka's coach was coaching every point too.
It is strange because this chair umpire was the chair umpire for most of the finals of
Rafa and Tony, Rafael's uncle and former coach.
Is coaching almost every single point and he never gave a warning so I don't get it.
So perhaps there's a bias.
You've got two women competing against each other.
Apparently it is accused that both were coaching.
At least Serena's coach admitted he was coaching, but he also accused Osaka's coach of coaching.
But only Serena Williams was given a warning for coaching.
This, in my opinion, is normal.
An umpire can't see everything all the time, and sometimes they just call out what they catch.
Was the coach coaching?
Yes.
She received a warning and that was it, but then she smashed her racket and was docked a point, and then she got into an argument and insulted the umpire.
Is it the worst insult in the world?
Absolutely not.
She called him a thief and a liar, but she was docked a game because of it.
Some people say that, yes, there are men who get away with this kind of behavior, and Serena Williams is being unfairly penalized, but I think when you look at it, it's simple.
Serena did break the rules.
Although she personally wasn't engaged in the coaching, she is still responsible for her coach coaching.
And some people I've seen are arguing that she was aware of the coaching, so the whole thing's rather debatable.
But I'm not going to accuse Serena of accepting the coaching.
That was on her coach, but she still did smash her racket, and it's not the first time she's done it.
There have been several instances where Serena has broken the rules in frustration, but what's strange to me is that in the past when she's insulted women or actually hit a cameraman with a racket, she never accused anyone of sexism when she was penalized for this behavior.
In a story from 2009, she is quoted as saying, if I could take this bleep ball and shove it down your bleep throat, what Serena Williams really told the line judge.
This was the dramatic moment when Serena Williams screamed her way out of the US Open.
TV viewers around the world saw the irate Wimbledon champion launch a threatening, profanity-laced tirade at a female line judge after being called for a foot fault.
If I could, I would take this blank ball and shove it down your blank throat, she reportedly said.
Her extraordinary outburst meant she was docked a point on match point, handing a semi-final victory to bemused Belgian opponent Kim Clisters in one of the ugliest ever endings to a major sports match.
In the semifinal, Ms.
Williams had already received a warning for smashing a racket, so the next sanction was a penalty point for unsportsmanlike conduct.
On her second serve, the line judge declared a foot fault, a call rarely, if ever, seen at that stage of the match.
That made the score 15-40, putting Ms.
Clisters one point from a place in the final.
Ms.
Williams stormed over to the line judge, cursing and shaking her racket, pointing at her and thrusting a ball in her face.
When the ruling was announced, she walked around the net to shake hands with her stunned opponent, who did not appear to understand at first what had happened.
This is a story from nearly 10 years ago, where Serena Williams smashed her racket and actually insulted a line judge.
But it was a female line judge.
I wonder why after that there were no decries of sexism and sexist behavior and it being unfair.
Serena Williams has been penalized for this exact behavior in the past.
I don't understand why today she is upset claiming it's sexism when she's experienced this same thing from her own behavior before and actually talked about how she's trying to get better.
She said, So I know you don't believe me, but I used to be worse.
Yes, yes, indeed.
Asked what she said to the line judge, she replied, What did I say?
You didn't hear?
I've never been in a fight in my whole life, so I don't know why she would have felt threatened.
But there was also a time only two years ago where Serena smashes and flings racket, then autographs and gives it to a fan.
Serena Williams was frustrated.
She had wasted eight break points in the first set of her second round match against fellow American Christina McHale, and she wasn't having it.
Thus, with nothing else to blame, she took out her anger on her racket, smacking it on the grass beside her chair a few times, and then a few seconds later, flinging it behind her across the slick green surface.
It just so happened to find a cameraman's lap.
What happens when you normally hit a cameraman?
Jan Michaels says, hmm.
And Ryan Harrison said, unbelievable.
In real time, the chair umpire issued a code violation to Serena for her conduct, and the match continued.
Serena faced later deficits in the encounter, but she prevailed by a 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 count.
With a winky tweet after it was over, Wimbledon itself alluded to her faux pas, even as it saluted her for bestowing the instantly infamous axe on a fan.
In the past, Serena Williams banged her racket on the ground and then threw it, And it hit a cameraman.
I don't think it actually hit them in any serious way.
It kind of just landed in their lap.
But that's kind of unsportsmanlike behavior, and she was penalized for it.
But she ended up winning.
Is the only reason she's upset now because she lost?
I don't want to make assumptions about what Serena's thinking or feeling, but the idea that this is sexist is, in my opinion, absolutely incorrect, although many people disagree with me.
From the Evening Standard, Serena Williams' sexism claims backed by WTA as Chief Executive Steve Simon criticizes U.S.
Open umpire Carlos Ramos.
Simon said yesterday's U.S.
Open final resulted in the crowning of a deserving new champion, Naomi Osaka.
The WTA applauds Naomi for her tremendous accomplishment.
Yesterday also brought to the forefront the question of whether different standards are applied to men and women in the officiating of matches.
The WTA believes there should be no difference in the standards of tolerance provided to the emotions expressed by men versus 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 last night.
So the question of, is there sexism in tennis?
I think the answer to it is 100% yes, because we have seen some sexist moments.
There was a woman who was simply trying to reverse her shirt and got penalized.
She got a warning, even though there are guys who actually take their shirts off.
So we know there is a disparity between how men and women are being treated.
But when it comes to the calling, the officiating, can we really say that?
I don't think that's fair.
For one, just last year, Fabio Fognini kicked out of US Open for insulting female official Louise Engsel during meltdown in first round.
Tournament chiefs announced the Italian was being investigated for a major offense.
In fact, ESPN ran a story talking about how the fine received by Fabio was good for tennis.
So certainly, when men are fined because of their behavior, it is talked about, and ESPN even said it was good.
Is it sexist, then, to do the same thing to Serena Williams?
In my opinion, it's not.
But it's not just Serena who's getting penalized.
Certainly men get penalized, but also women.
Heather Watson hit with Wimbledon's second biggest fine after first-round loss.
Britain penalized $12,000 after 3-6, 6-0, 12-10 loss to Annika Beck.
Watson fined for unsportsmanlike behavior after smashing racket into grass.
So look, here's the problem.
I'm trying to assess whether or not Serena Williams was actually treated unfairly, but her coach admitted to breaking the rules.
She then smashed her racket, which is two violations, and then started arguing with and insulting the umpire.
Calling him a thief and a liar I don't think is particularly egregious, so maybe the umpire was a little hot-headed and said, you know what?
Serena, I'm docking you a game because it's my way or the highway.
Maybe he was a little over the top and maybe he shouldn't have acted that way.
But does that mean he was sexist?
It really doesn't.
Because we see tennis players do this all the time and there's no real way to quantify if women are facing the brunt of sexism from officiating or men are.
We can say that there was one particular incident recently Where a woman was penalized in what was probably a sexist way because she was trying to reverse her shirt because she put it on backwards.
So we know that guys can take their shirts off, but this woman got in trouble for it.
And you know what?
They apologized because of it because it wasn't right to do.
So yes, sometimes there can be sexism.
And yes, I will say this.
It's entirely possible that what happened to Serena was sexist.
I just don't think it's very likely, or at the very least, it's impossible to quantify.
Different tennis players face different officiating from different officials.
And Serena Williams did break the rules.
We know she did.
So this is a rather complicated story.
But I think in the culture war we have a phenomenon of people playing the victim because it wins them the brownie points.
If you do something wrong, all you have to do is claim that you're the victim of something one way or another, and then people will take your side, and that's exactly what's happening.
A lot of people, even pro tennis players, are saying this was sexist.
However, I'm trying to be rational, and I'm trying to find evidence to suggest that what happened to her doesn't happen to men, but I can certainly find tons of stories where men do get punished for this.
Certainly, there are stories where men do get away with it.
Does it mean that this umpire today was being sexist?
It doesn't.
You can't say all umpires are always being sexist or that the entirety of tennis happens to be sexist against women simply because there are a couple incidents that may or may not be questionable.
We just don't know.
Should we be conscious of and try to prevent sexism in officiating?
Hell yeah, absolutely.
But we gotta be careful about directly impugning the honor or integrity of individuals simply because you got caught breaking the rules.
So while I respect Serena, I think she was a little frustrated, and she's known for getting frustrated, and this is her perspective.
She believes that this call was specifically a sexist act.
As someone who's not a tennis fan, who only took a cursory glance, I can't really see that.
But you know what?
She probably knows better than me and there are a lot of famous tennis players who think my opinion is wrong and there is sexism within the sport.
And if that's the case, I certainly hope this changes things.
But all I can say is, from an outside perspective, I've looked into this and I've seen numerous stories of Serena breaking the rules and getting punished for it, other women breaking the rules and getting punished for it, and men breaking the rules and getting punished for it.
I don't know how you can actually quantify whether or not guys typically get away with it, other than looking at all of the games and trying to track the times men have violated the rules and gotten away with it.
And if that's what needs to be done, then so be it.
Anybody who wants to claim their sexism should absolutely dig up that proof and do the work.
Because once you show that proof, it'll be undeniable, and then you can actually make some change.
But let me know what you think in the comments below.
Do you think this is an issue of sexism?
Or do you think it's just Serena being frustrated because she lost a match, or because she was called out for what her coach was doing?
There's probably a million different perspectives on this one, so again, comment and we'll keep the conversation going.
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