Serena's meltdown

The Rape of Lucretia · 10-09-2018 06:51PM

2 Scoops wrote: »

Race race race!

Absolutely. Would she have spoken to a bl**k umpire like that ? No way. But just because he is w**te she feels free to let free with this tirade of racially motivated abuse of him.

Danzy · 10-09-2018 06:55PM

The Talking Bread wrote: »

The umpire handled her outburst perfectly. ........that was what her problem was. She is used to getting away with her bullying

Entitlement met reality.

She ruined her opponents great victory because she threw a strop over being outclassed throughout the game.

Scumbag.

Danzy · 10-09-2018 07:02PM

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

I don't believe he was picking on her, I'm just questioning whether his approach is consistent with how umpires approach the rules more generally. SW's reaction was definitely emotional, OTT, but I think umpires should generally be like children of old -- not seen and not heard.

Nobody really cares about court etiquette. Some of these guys need to get out of the 19th century.

Self respect, respect for the rules, respect for the game , respect players are all from the 19th century?

No one may ever told her this but you can't just piss all over people. Is that so hard to do, especially for a professional.

Years of

blade1 · 10-09-2018 07:03PM

Danzy wrote: »

Entitlement met reality.

She ruined her opponents great victory because she threw a strop over being outclassed throughout the game.

Scumbag.

Yes and she proclaiming the booing crowd were the best fans in the world..
Just another bunch of scumbags.

MonkieSocks · 10-09-2018 07:07PM

The Champ...Naomi Osaka

skysports-naomi-osaka-tennis_4415570.jpg?20180908231509

crusier · 10-09-2018 07:09PM

Sorry haven't ready many posts, but this seems to me to be a bit like the celebrity big brother senario recently where the girl claimed she had been hit by the guy who was messing shadow boxing. I think with the Me Too movement there's a feeling amoungst some that nobody can say or do anything to them they don't like and they have the right to call them sexist. It's going full circle.

vetinari · 10-09-2018 07:13PM

Danzy wrote: »

Entitlement met reality.

She ruined her opponents great victory because she threw a strop over being outclassed throughout the game.

Scumbag.

What is with the level of vitriol?
Calling someone a scumbag for reacting badly in a situation is way OTT.
Was Nadal a scumbag when he made the same threat of never umpiring a match of his again?

Was Zidane a scumbag for that headbutt in the World Cup final?

Some people let the pressure get to them and react badly.
That shouldn't be news to anyone here yet there seems a decent number who are delighted for an opportunity to tear strips out of Serena.

Danzy · 10-09-2018 07:14PM

rovertom wrote: »

I think the umpire should sue her personally.
He has been seen to have applied the rules as they are written yet she is persisting with her argument that she was hard done by and that she is fighting sexism and racism. This is clear by the tone of all comment from her since the event.
She is therefore doubling down on her thief and liar comments to the umpire while further damaging him by running with the black woman fighting sexism and racism. I believe she should be legally brought to account for that and the umpire adequately compensated together with receiving a public apology.

Old fashioned class snobbery, Ramos is just a pleb in her eyes, a piece of trash on her shoes.

7aubzxk43m2sni · 10-09-2018 07:16PM

vetinari wrote: »

Was Zidane a scumbag for that headbutt in the World Cup final?

Yes

Danzy · 10-09-2018 07:21PM

vetinari wrote: »

What is with the level of vitriol?
Calling someone a scumbag for reacting badly in a situation is way OTT.
Was Nadal a scumbag when he made the same threat of never umpiring a match of his again?

Was Zidane a scumbag for that headbutt in the World Cup final?

Some people let the pressure get to them and react badly.
That shouldn't be news to anyone here yet there seems a decent number who are delighted for an opportunity to tear strips out of Serena.

It was scum bag behaviour, pointing out that it was a sustained level of psycho scumbaggery is not vitriol.

Niles Crane · 10-09-2018 07:23PM

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

An umpire is appointed and paid to be impervious to players' outbursts. If they cannot handle that kind of pressure, they have no business sitting in a high chair.

I haven't read the entire thread, but it's pretty clear that nobody has their hands permanently super-glued to their cheeks over John McEnroe's or Novak Djokovic's (or countless other male players') unsportsmanlike behaviour on the court.

Yes, Serena Williams went way over the top, but can people not stand back and ask whether male players have attracted similar pages of debate for doing so? And why might that be?

Maybe because they didn't commit 3 difference offences in the one match thus receiving a one game penalty.

Maybe because they didn't play the victim card if they were punished.

She spent pretty much all of the 2nd set abusing the umpire which is something that doesn't happen too often usually most flame ups from players end fairly quickly and they stop whining and get on with the match, and certainly something that almost never happens in a grand slam final.

Each decision made by the umpire was correct, there is simply no defence for Williams whether people like it or not.

Remember this was the final of one of the 4 biggest tournaments of the year and one of the world great sporting events.That would explain why it has got so much press coverage and comment from people .

Sam Quentin · 10-09-2018 07:35PM

Who was cooking the dinner and cleaning her house when she was out playing tennis ball!?

arybvtcw0eolkf · 10-09-2018 07:37PM

vetinari wrote: »

What is with the level of vitriol?
Calling someone a scumbag for reacting badly in a situation is way OTT.
Was Nadal a scumbag when he made the same threat of never umpiring a match of his again?

Was Zidane a scumbag for that headbutt in the World Cup final?

Some people let the pressure get to them and react badly.
That shouldn't be news to anyone here yet there seems a decent number who are delighted for an opportunity to tear strips out of Serena.

Yup, they're scumbags too.

Floppybits · 10-09-2018 07:54PM

The ITF have come out in support of Carlos Ramos. About time too.

https://twitter.com/ITF_Tennis/status/1039192554821038081?s=19

Danzy · 10-09-2018 08:04PM

Marissa Gorgeous Beast wrote: »

Yes

A lifetime ban would have been appropriate, banned from all pitches even FIFA associations operate.

A fair response.

squawker · 10-09-2018 08:06PM

jmayo wrote: »

hamilton is an ar** who has thrown it out about his poor background when it suited him.
He made references to not being born with a silver spoon unlike Rosberg.

He does of course forget to mention how he was basically adopted as a kid by one of the most powerful men in the sport with one of the best teams and fastracked into a major F1 team..

no love for Hamilton but he has skill, F1 has always pandered to the rich kid drivers

ever watch the Tommy Byrne documentary?

https://vimeo.com/238267490

7aubzxk43m2sni · 10-09-2018 08:06PM

Danzy wrote: »

A lifetime ban would have been appropriate, banned from all pitches even FIFA associations operate.

A fair response.

I never said that

yosser hughes · 10-09-2018 08:09PM

I wonder will Ramos sue her? He should. It's textbook defamation and she wouldn't have a leg to stand on

Danzy · 10-09-2018 08:12PM

Marissa Gorgeous Beast wrote: »

I never said that

That was about Zidane

Not sure why it was just yes, must have deleted your response

ginandtonicsky · 10-09-2018 08:12PM

Niles Crane wrote: »

Maybe because they didn't commit 3 difference offences in the one match thus receiving a one game penalty.

Maybe because they didn't play the victim card if they were punished.

She spent pretty much all of the 2nd set abusing the umpire which is something that doesn't happen too often usually most flame ups from players end fairly quickly and they stop whining and get on with the match, and certainly something that almost never happens in a grand slam final.

Each decision made by the umpire was correct, there is simply no defence for Williams whether people like it or not.

Remember this was the final of one of the 4 biggest tournaments of the year and one of the world great sporting events.That would explain why it has got so much press coverage and comment from people .

Yeah this. She's the best of the best athletically, it's totally understandable that she'd get riled up about an umpire decision that she didn't agree with, particularly in the second set of a Grand Slam final. But to jump so quickly to "sexism" and "I have a daughter" and "so many men have said worse" and then demanding an apology for something SHE did wrong...it's just unacceptable and inappropriate behaviour and totally insulting to the women's rights movement.

I'm a feminist and I was offended at her outburst, you don't forgive that type of unruly behaviour with "but the men are worse!" You play by the rules and accept that you've got a particularly renowned umpire who isn't going to let anything slide and accept defeat graciously, if not happily.

Ramos is known to be a stickler for rules, probably not advisable to insult him and throw the sexism card at him and demand apologies and expect his nature to suddenly change. Of course he was going to throw the book at her, especially when all three violations were correct.

NIMAN · 10-09-2018 08:13PM

Sad that the Japanese girl, who won and played brilliantly apparently (I don't watch tennis) is not even getting mentioned in all this nonsense.

Biggest day of her life overshadowed by an overly entitled, egotistical , self-centered cry baby, who was demeaning those who fight for equal rights for female and black people by trying to use her sex and race to cover up the fact she was beaten by a better opponent in a tennis match.

mikhail · 10-09-2018 08:52PM

Some day, Williams' baby will see that clip and be ashamed of her mother.

Clare in Exile · 10-09-2018 08:54PM

Interesting to see that the reaction across the Atlantic seems to be much different from this forum. From my point of view I think Williams' behaviour has been deplorable. To drag sexism into it and to portray herself as fighting for women's rights is utterly pathetic.

As I saw written in another article, she, at 37, was being overwhelmed by a 20 year old who was "taking away" her attempt at gaining ground on the Grand Slam record. She threw a hissy fit, taking away from what should have been the highlight of Osaka's career.

Brand Williams has been damaged in most parts of the world following this tantrum, but somehow in the States she is being portrayed as a martyr.

Glad to see that the umpire is receiving some support officially at last, he has been castigated for merely adhering to the rules.

Serena is way off the mark on this one, shameful to go playing the sexism card...

mikhail · 10-09-2018 09:17PM

Clare in Exile wrote: »

Interesting to see that the reaction across the Atlantic seems to be much different from this forum...

I browsed a reddit thread on it earlier. All the top comments were moderately reproachful of her. Reddit has its hives of just about every faction, but it's strongest political grouping would be US-based and liberal, so I have the impression that most of the defence of her in the media is unrepresentative of public opinion.

mzungu · 10-09-2018 09:36PM

This whole fiasco raises a question about how the rules are implemented. Andy Roddick and James Blake have said they have come out with worse and got away it. I would like to see the gender breakdown of stats regarding code violations. In most cases where players have broken the rules (that I have seen) they have received warnings. I am one of those people who would like to see no quarter given to player outbursts. If this sorry affair does anything, hopefully it will make things more clearer in that regard.

That said, Serena Williams was in the wrong. She was losing, and the disappointment of not reaching Margaret Court's record was playing on her. Putting it this way, if she was winning 6-3 4-1 and received a warning for on court coaching, she would have laughed it off. The same way that she would have laughed off being called on a foot fault against Kim Clijsters back in 2009 if she had been winning on that occasion too. High pressure situations lead to meltdowns when the fairytale ending does not materialise.

Personally, I don't really care that Williams lost the plot, I have seen Federer and Djokovic smash their rackets to pieces and give some lip to the umpire and it's par for the course. By all means, let off some steam and then pick yourself up and carry on. The bit that interests me is her warning that he (Ramos) will never umpire another of her matches. Was this a heat of the moment idle threat, or does she have the clout to do this? Given how the WTA have rowed in behind her, she may have the ear of those up in the higher echelons.

As for the whole sexism angle, that was really just a desperate ploy to deflect attention away from her poor performance and subsequent tantrum. Given the times we live in, that accusation was always going to gain momentum, even though there is nothing behind it. Worse still, are the journalists and reporters that are taking it as gospel in the media. They are all complicit in accusing an umpire doing his job and following the rules of sexism. It really has been an ugly affair. Not good for tennis at all.

I feel sorry for Naomi Osaka. Her first grand slam win has been turned into a cheap clickbait gender wars side show, and that is what people will unfortunately remember it for. She deserves better.

metaoblivia · 10-09-2018 09:44PM

Clare in Exile wrote: »

Brand Williams has been damaged in most parts of the world following this tantrum, but somehow in the States she is being portrayed as a martyr.

No she's not. Opinions are more varied than it seems to be on here, but she's getting criticised. As one poster mentioned, Reddit is generally reproachful and so are many commentators on Deadspin, another liberal, American sports site. I can only imagine conservative-leaning sites are even more critical.

Deadspin is sister sites with The Root, which focuses on African American news. The Root has been 100% supportive of Serena, unsurprisingly. And the commentators on the Root are getting upset at regular Deadspin posters coming onto their posts and explaining why Serena's behavior was unacceptable and why the ref wasn't racist, but was just being his normal self.

I think Serena was out of line and has too much ego to own up to it. I get that in sports, you sometimes lose control of your emotions, and I'm always respect an athlete who owns up to that and apologizes for on the field outbursts. But it doesn't seem like Serena's going down that path here, which is too bad. She's a great player, but incidents like this will sully her reputation. You don't see LeBron James losing his shit at a ref in the middle of a game.

abbir · 10-09-2018 09:48PM

mzungu wrote: »

This whole fiasco raises a question about how the rules are implemented. Andy Roddick and James Blake have said they have come out with worse and got away it. I would like to see the gender breakdown of stats regarding code violations.

Here's an article

http://www.tennisabstract.com/blog/2018/09/10/gender-differences-in-point-penalties/

This table is about point penalties.

 Category        Matches  Penalties     P&#37;   

Women (all)        1895         13  0.69%   

Women (slams)       490          6  1.22%   

Women (finals)      228          2  0.88%    

Men (all)          1689         16  0.95%   

Men (slams)         234          6  2.56%  

 Men (finals)        371          5  1.35%

Pero_Bueno · 10-09-2018 09:51PM

Serena and her sister are two racist vile individuals, always have been and have gotten away with all sorts during the years by playing the "racism" and "Im a woman" card.

Their father is a horrible racist too.

The Rape of Lucretia · 10-09-2018 09:52PM

metaoblivia wrote: »

The Root, which focuses on African American news. The Root has been 100% supportive of Serena, unsurprisingly. And the commentators on the Root are getting upset at regular Deadspin posters coming onto their posts and explaining why Serena's behavior was unacceptable and why the ref wasn't racist, but was just being his normal self.

Then The Root sounds like an extraordinary collection of racists that they can be so blinkered as to be uniformly supportive of Serena. Talk about prejudiced.

The Rape of Lucretia · 10-09-2018 09:54PM

abbir wrote: »
Here's an article

http://www.tennisabstract.com/blog/2018/09/10/gender-differences-in-point-penalties/

This table is about point penalties.
 Category        Matches  Penalties     P%   

Women (all)        1895         13  0.69%   

Women (slams)       490          6  1.22%   

Women (finals)      228          2  0.88%    

Men (all)          1689         16  0.95%   

Men (slams)         234          6  2.56%  

 Men (finals)        371          5  1.35%

This is outrageous. What an incredibly sexist bias against men. Some of them are possibly even fathers.

Serena's meltdown

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