DOUBLE STANDARD: The Serena Williams US Open Controversy

On Saturday afternoon, September 8, 2018, Serena Williams faced Naomi Osaka in the US Open tennis finals in New York. The end resulted in Naomi defeating her childhood idol to win her first Grand Slam championship. In what should have been a great celebratory occasion for Naomi, was overshadowed by the controversy that occurred during the match.

While I salute the great performance and victory by Osaka, I was taken aback by all the flack that Serena received. She become noticeably upset when the umpire penalized her for being coached from the stands, which she vehemently denied. As you can imagine, her emotions took over and she lost her focus. Serena was eventually assessed 3 penalties and fined $17,000 because she became emotional.

As I read the headlines, she was described by many as having a meltdown on the court, to which I take offense. Did she get upset? Yes. Was she passionate? Yes. Was she outspoken? Yes. Did she use profanity? No. Did she threaten the umpire? No. Did she storm off the court? No. Was she trying to take the sail out of Osaka’s victory? No.

She stood up for herself!

Not to mention the fact that such suggestion of being a cheater would cast a cloud over her inevitable legacy as the “Greatest Tennis Player of All Time” and she wasn’t having it!

During her two-decade career as a tennis player, Serena (and Venus) has had to overcome enormous scrutiny, obstacles and criticism like no others. She’s been booed in her own country, called all kinds of racial and sexist epithets, body shamed like no other player in the game.

Male tennis players become irate on the court as well, but they don’t get penalized or labeled hysterical and they certainly don’t get this type of fanfare. This is a double standard, and it doesn’t just apply to the world of tennis. As a woman and/or woman of color you can probably relate to Serena.

Your don't have to go on a rant to get your point across, but far too long women have remained silent, but not anymore. This is a new day. Women are standing up and speaking truth to power. Tired of just taking it on the chin. When you speak truth to power, it frees other women to do the same. This is how change happens. This is how the #METOO movement caught steam. Women stood up and decided, “No More!”

Speaking truth to power isn’t always convenient and might cause push back but it’s the right thing to do. In the words of Serena, “It made me feel like it was a sexist remark. He’s never taken a game from a man because they said ‘thief.’ For me, it blows my mind. But I’m going to continue to fight for women and to fight for us to have equal … this is outrageous. I just feel like, the fact that I have to go through this is just an example for the next person that has emotions and want to express themselves and they want to be a strong woman and they are going to be allowed to do that because of today. Maybe it didn’t work out for me but it’s gonna work out for the next person.”

Amen sister!

#metoo #truthtopower #serenawilliams #usopen #doublestandardintennis