Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Billie Jean King is Wrong About Serena Williams
Outrage is on parade again. Billie Jean King opened her piehole on the Serena Williams US Open tantrum. And guess what? It’s all about being oppressed as a woman, no wait — a black person. No, wait, wait … a black woman. Or whatever gets the most victim status today or tomorrow. Or gets her on ESPN, MSNBC, CBS. You got it — The attention-seeking culture is the new #MeToo .. or whatever.
King’s proof, and I quote, “But that’s not what many will remember. For fans, Osaka’s stellar play was overshadowed by an archaic tennis rule that eventually led to an abuse of power.”
Now, I about blew a pretzel stick out my nose when I read that. I mean, please excuse my rant style of prose, that is just stupid. Hey BJK! Its was Serena’s behavior that overshadowed Osaka’s first major win. Got it!?
The time and place to dispute an archaic rule is not during your 20th time to the rodeo. At the rodeo. While getting your butt kicked by the rodeo. The time for rule changes is during the offseason, during a USTA rules pretournament meetings, during an annual rules review, or pick up pen and paper or an Apple Power book and write to the USTA. Even call them. Does Billie sit on any USTA committee? Certainly she must be involved in tennis in some way where she can influence tennis in some positive way that doesn’t involve writing op-eds to the Washington Post. What a waste of Woman Power!
Oh yeah, the president of the USTA? Wait for it … is a Black Woman, Katrina Adams. Shazam, shazam, shazam! (quoting Gomer Pyle) By the way, Google shows no interviews of Katrina Adams about Serena’s tantrum on the court, only her grace at the trophy presentation — Oh, boy! Wouldn’t the media want to know Ms. Adams’s thoughts?
But then again, Billie may have been shamed back to her hole-in-the-ground a year or so ago when the whole Bobby Riggs thing blew up in Billie’s face. That’s when it came out that Riggs threw the Battle-of-the-Sexes match against her, way back in the ’70s. She went into complete denial mode — looking stupid. No wonder some women are micro-oppressed by dog whistles when they have leaders like Ms. King.
And yes, there is a difference between how men and women are treated on the playing field. Thankfully. You see, women and men who run sports don’t want to see their competitions degrade into spitting, scratching, and punching contests like so many on the men’s side of the ledger. I think that’s good, and women who don’t scratch every itch in public or swear like sailors agree. Again, you see, more men watch women sports than women — sorry Billy, that’s how it is. So we men don’t want to see women acting nor looking like men (WNBA take note). It’s a different market. And we’re not really equal — physically speaking. Serena did loose to the 202nd seated male tennis player in the world.
And Billie, feminism isn’t women acting like men. That’s just lazy and boring. Want to set a standard? Encourage women to act better than men.
Published in Sports
I am with Mark Steyn … https://www.steynonline.com/8806/infame-and-great-place
Go wild, Jim. You’re right about this. The sentence above (in which you’re quoting BJK) demonstrates exactly what’s wrong with much of the acting-out behavior we see among many millenials (and Serena is just young enough to be one), and a few others. Nothing is their fault. She was required to behave like a spoiled child, draw all the attention to herself, and overshadow the other young woman’s considerable accomplishment because of a “rule.”
Everyone knows that “rules” are nasty things that make us do things we would otherwise never even contemplate. And that we can’t help ourselves when we do. And that we can roll over anyone we like, and we shouldn’t be held accountable for the consequences. Because, nasty rule.
The sad thing is that it is geezers like Billie Jean King who encourage this sort of behavior. I’m not a believer in collective guilt myself, and I never go for the quick “somehow this is my fault” excuse when some societal disaster occurs, but I can’t help noticing that earlier generations must have had some role to play in bringing up the youth of today to believe what they do and act as they do.
Martina Navratilova was much more ladylike and rational in response to this issue, in a New York Times opinion piece (sorry for the unforgivable cis-gendering here) A few excepts below:
For my own part, I think Serena should have been banned from tennis for life solely on account of that extremely unflattering tutu thing she wore. But that’s just me.
What does she think she is? Five years old?
Oh, wait . . .
Hey, Billie Jean King earned the right to speak on behalf of all women when she beat a middle-aged, out-of-shape, has-been, male con-artist in a game of tennis!
There are some sports where the artistry, grace and power of women are displayed in a compelling and excellent way: gymnastics and ice skating/dancing.
There are a few sports where our women excel and our men are also rans, like soccer, and our patriotic regard for our fellow countrywomen creates interest which is not matched by athletic excellence on the field. Sorry, but women’s soccer is awful. But we win World Cups and Alex Morgan is beautiful so I watch from time to time.
Women’s tennis is athletically tedious and underpowered. The final set at last year’s US Open between Stephens and Venus Williams was the last set of genuinely powerful and athletic women’s tennis I’ve seen. In order to create interest in a rather listless sport we need psychodrama, personal branding, entourages and catty feuds. The media surrounding women’s tennis is really a Christopher Guest movie.
What Serena did is actually essential for continued interest in the women’s game because that interest is not based on athletic excellence.
And me. Thanks. Martina is a class act too.
Hmmm? Good point. I’ll have to think a little more on that. Guerrilla marketing? [Hey Snowflakes, that’s guerrilla, not gorilla, so put down your dog whistle detectors].
I should add that when women’s tennis was played with feminine artistry and fluidity I enjoyed it.
But the two-handed backhand introduced a brutal efficiency to both the men’s and women’s games. The men can still transcend it with speed and power and, let be honest, brutality is not unattractive in male sports.
The two-handed backhand, however, has robbed women’s tennis of grace and fluidity. I could watch Evonne Goolagong play for hours.
Honestly, could anyone watch grunting machines like Monica Seles for five sets?
I was a Chris Evert fan-boy myself. Sure.
I think it’s all about the money. There was a $2 million difference between 1st and 2nd. She may have had the money spent. I saw today that she lowered the sale price on her LA home by $2 million. He budget may be predicated on 1st prize winnings.
The early nineties were a wonderful time for young men watching women’s tennis. My friends and I would sometimes skip college classes to watch Jennifer Capriati, Monica Seles, Gabriela Sabatini, et al.
In the clips I saw Serena stopped just short of going full “Do you know who I am?!?!?“ on the official standing at the base of the chair and pointing at him during the tirade.
Whether the call was right or not I don’t know enough to comment on. I will revert to baseball 101…
Complain all you want …but don’t show up the umpire.
If you thought the last pitch was clearly not the strike the umpire said it was you can have a nice long rant. But do it while stepping out of the batter’s box, not facing the ump, adjusting your batting gloves and helmet, knocking dirt out of your spikes. Complain away. If you aren’t vulgar and not showing up the ump, you’re probably OK. But the second you turn around and get in the umpire’s face … that’s it … they’ll toss you out every time.
So Im not surprised at all that Serena got penalized.
And if a competing channel were featuring five sets of Pamela Anderson versus Victoria Principal in tight sweat drenched cotton which match were you and your friends watching …
I’ll take this comment as confirmation of my thesis about the athletic excellence of women’s tennis.
Sabatini was a genuinely fun tennis talent. Watching her lose to the automaton backhanders was sad.
I’m not gonna get the quote exactly right, but coming home yesterday I heard a piece of an interview with Serena where she said she will keep fighting for women’s right, etc. cause that’s what she is suppose to do. No, Serena, you are suppose to play tennis, that’s it! Nobody has elected or asked you to fight for anybody’s rights. Just freaking play tennis (a game, just a game) and shut your pie hole.
Exactly right! Poor Serena, how did she know they were going to call her on that this time? I guess she can sit and cry while counting her millions.
Well, we were college students, so I’m not sure which channel would win. I think we might have wanted to watch somebody with some athletic skill versus a pure exhibition. I haven’t watch much televised sports in a long time so I’m not sure about the current state of play.
I’m glad you included the fact that Bobby Riggs threw the game in the “battle of the sexes” back in ‘73. I remember watching that and all the hullabaloo before the game. I just didn’t understand why any woman would think that beating a 55 year old man proved anything. I’m 55 now and I freely admit that world class female athletes can out run me. I don’t think that proves much of anything. The fact that he threw the game, which even in my tender years I suspected was the case, makes her a bigger joke than the whole spectacle itself was.
Serena might be a good person and she might love her daughter, but she was wrong on that day and there’ s no getting around it. She was losing the game and she lost her composure. She should be ashamed and others should admonish her.
Which the guy totally didn’t throw because he owed a bunch of money to some shady people who made a killing that day by betting against him. Nope nothing to see here. Move along.
Martina got it right. She explains exactly why Serena was in the wrong. Also see what Johnathan V. Last wrote over in the Weekly Standard. This is not the first time Serena has lost her composure with the officials at the U.S. Open.
I take it Serena makes a practice of this sort of thing? I wouldn’t know. I gave up on watching tennis when I saw John McEnroe vent his spleen and fill his drawers one time too often.
I agree with pretty much everything said, above.
On a lighter note re: complaining to the umpire, I remember watching an interview with some baseball manager (Billy Martin?) by, I think, Johnny Carson. The question was about whether the manager ever complained about close calls that he thought were correct, but felt he was expected to throw a stink, anyway.
He said that he’d occasionally stormed out of the dugout, got into the umpire’s face, and screamed, “THAT WAS ONE OF THE BEST CALLS I’VE EVER SEEN! YOU’RE A GREAT UMPIRE! IF ONLY ALL UMPIRES WERE AS GOOD AS YOU, THE GAME WOULD BE MUCH BETTER FOR IT!” or some-such. Sometimes you gotta play to the fans, I guess.
Roid rage?
Don’t look at me like that. I can’t be the only one thinking it.
Not at all. Serena Williams, like other top athletes, makes most of her money from endorsements. You have to go to The Guardian, a British paper, to get the rest of the story:
This is the 45th anniversary of Margaret Court, an Australian, winning her record 24th Major.
Serena Williams has 23 Major wins.
The U.S. Open is the last Grand Slam or Major tournament of the year.
So, the U.S. organization and the top U.S. player, were anticipating a great celebration of tying the record. If this had happened, then Serena would have arrived in Australia next January to beat Margaret Court’s record on the Australian’s home court. Now, she can only tie the record there.
Oh, and there seems to be bad blood between them.
See a Members Feed post for more on point.
The chair umpire for the Williams-Osaka women’s final was a man. Anybody notice that the chair umpire for the Djokovic-Del Potro men’s final was a woman? If there is a difference between how men and women play tennis and how they are treated on the tennis court, you expect that to be reflected in the selection of chair umpire. Otherwise, you might be inviting friction in situations where misunderstandings come into play.
Yelling at the umpire has always been one of the privileges of baseball — an American cultural touchstone. As-well-as stealing signs and little cheats like using hair gel on the ball — all part of the game. Now, TV goes into vapors about it. I’m I wrong?
Unlike MMA, where men and women fight the same number of rounds and the same number of minutes in each round, tennis treats women and men differently. Women play best of three sets, where men play best of five sets. So, women who win are paid the same prize money as their male counterparts, while doing less work, unless the women take all three sets to win and the men completely dominate their opponents for 3 straight sets.
I’m sure that Serena Williams will be leading the fight for equal work to go with the equal pay. Women should have the same chance to come back and win over 5 sets, instead of losing the match in two sets with a slow start. Surely, at least the championship finals should be the same!
No, you’re not wrong. The talking heads need something to talk about, after all.
Since writing the above, I’ve had this imaginary back-and-forth in my head.
Manager: THAT WAS A GOOD CALL!
Umpire: BITE ME!
Mgr: GOOD CALL!
Ump: YOU’RE JUST SHOWING OFF!
Mgr: WHAT!?!
Ump: YOUR CONTRACT IS UP…
Mgr: WHAT!?!?
Ump: …AND YOU’RE TRYING TO…
Mgr: WHAT!?!
Ump: …PAD YOUR NEW SALARY!
Mgr: YOU KNOW HOW IT GOES!
Ump: I SAID BITE ME!
Mgr: YOU COMING TO THE HOUSE ON SUNDAY?!?
Ump: YEAH, BUT NO PBR!
Mgr: WHAT!?!
Ump: AFTER THIS, I EXPECT HEINEKEN!
Mgr: PBR!
Ump: HEINEKEN!
Mgr: PBR!
Ump: HEINEKEN!
Mgr: PBR!
Ump: HEINEKEN!
Mgr: OK, HEINEKEN!
Ump: FINE!
Mgr: FINE!
Mgr: TODAY’S MY WIFE’S BIRTHDAY.
Ump: TELL GLORIA ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY’ FOR ME. YOU GOIN’ OUT?
Mgr: YEAH, WE’VE GOT RESERVATIONS AT CHEZ GOMER’S IN HALF AN HOUR.
Ump: IT’S ONLY THE THIRD INNING. YOU’LL NEVER MAKE IT.
Mgr: SO?
Ump: YER OUTTA HERE!
I literally LOL-ed.
Literally-literally, not millennial-literally.