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Original poster

To not appreciate Serena using sexism in her arguments against umpire

518 replies

user1471517900 · 09/09/2018 10:07

Sorry if there is a thread, I did scan four pages to check.

Serena gets coached (which her coach admits) but claims she didn't see it. Then smashes a racquet in separate fit of temper. Then tells the umpire she can't be a cheat because she's a mother(!), he will never referee a match again with her, and he's a thief.

The punishments all seem fine to me and I really felt for Osaka having to apologise in her winners speech. Serena should be saying sorry today IMO.

OP posts:
Original poster
user1471517900 · 09/09/2018 10:17

Serena at least asking the crowd to show respect for the worthy winner in her speech was good. But she should have checked her emotions. While champions rely on playing at 100% and putting everything out there, she went way over the top. The umpire did nothing wrong.

OP posts:
SerenDippitty · 09/09/2018 10:18

Did she really say she can’t be a cheat because she’s a mother? Shock

Forgottencoffee · 09/09/2018 10:21

Apparently she said
Every time I play here, I have problems. I did not have coaching, I don't cheat. You need to make an announcement. I have a daughter and I stand for what's right You owe me an apology.

'For you to attack my character is wrong. You owe me an apology. You will never be on a court with me as long as you live. You are the liar. You owe me an apology. Say it. Say you're sorry.

'How dare you insinuate that I was cheating? You stole a point from me. You're a thief too. '

insancerre · 09/09/2018 10:21

Yanbu
She's lost the plot
She seems deranged

Aquamarine1029 · 09/09/2018 10:21

Serena has always had an appalling attitude. This is nothing new. Her behaviour was absolutely shameful, and the way the crowd booed the victor left me sick to my stomach.

TheDoraMilaje · 09/09/2018 10:21

Serene said “ I don’t cheat to win, I’d rather lose” not that’s she can’t be a cheat because she is a mother.

Original poster
user1471517900 · 09/09/2018 10:22

She said
"I have never cheated in my life. I have a daughter and I stand for what's right for her. I have never cheated."

OP posts:
TinyBarista · 09/09/2018 10:23

But... Didn't she say she has a daughter, rather than say she is a mother?
Which means men could use the same phrase.
Which makes your sexism point ... incorrect.

insancerre · 09/09/2018 10:24

She pulled the sexism card in the press conference afterwards

Usernumbers1234 · 09/09/2018 10:26

And she had cheated. Was cheating, got caught, threw her toys out the prank.

Usernumbers1234 · 09/09/2018 10:26

Pram even

5Yearplan4000 · 09/09/2018 10:27

What a diva. She lost her grip a long time ago.

SuckOnTHATRyan · 09/09/2018 10:28

Poor menz.

Meh. Tennis players aren’t known for being sensible when they’ve just been told off / caught out by the umpire. It isn’t great, but it isn’t sexist, from what’s been quoted here. I don’t know what she said in the press conference though, so maybe that was sexist?

SellFridges · 09/09/2018 10:29

I do think that there is gender bias in the way females sports stars are treated in comparison to men. Both by umpires (in this case) and by the media. Andy Murray frequently chucks his racket about the court and is rude to the umpire and I have never seen him penalised in this way.

Original poster
user1471517900 · 09/09/2018 10:31

Apologies I agree OP wasn't clear with where sexism comes in

"Afterwards the American said it was "sexist" to have been penalised a game."

He's never taken a game from a man because they said 'thief'," the 36-year-old former world number one added.

But I've seen other men call other umpires several things.

I'm here fighting for women's rights and for women's equality and for all kinds of stuff."

OP posts:
Branleuse · 09/09/2018 10:31

Good for her.

I notice that any black woman that stands up for herself is often said to have gone mad or lost the plot etc

Phuquocdreams · 09/09/2018 10:33

I think her point was that if a man acted in the same way, he would not have got sanctioned in the same way. I don’t know enough about tennis to know if this is true. If it is true, then treating women more harshly than men for the same behavior is sexism, even if her own behavior was not commendable.
If there is an example of a man being docked a point for breaking his racket, it could disprove her point (or vice versa, if there are examples of men breaking rackets without being sanctioned, it would help support her case).

Original poster
user1471517900 · 09/09/2018 10:33

I think her point is moot. Murray and other players do get warnings a fair amount. They generally do not then violate rules more times (unless they're Nick Krygios) so don't get up to the game deduction stage.

OP posts:
TinyBarista · 09/09/2018 10:35

Thanks for the clarification.
I have to admit I like her. She is a strong, driven women and we should be celebrating and supporting each other, not tearing each other down. Yes I do think this differs between female and male sports people.

SerenDippitty · 09/09/2018 10:37

I can’t imagine Andy Murray saying he would never cheat because he’s a father, tbh.

glintandglide · 09/09/2018 10:37

I feel sorry for her. She’s not lost the plot she’s having an extremely difficult return to work after maternity and yes, she’s experiencing sexism.

The worst of it is she’s determined to carry on as an example to her daughter but I think the word is so against her she’s inevitably going to be forced to give it up. And that’s showing the world that even the worlds best get pushed out after children

Original poster
user1471517900 · 09/09/2018 10:38

Tiny - but equally we should support her opponent (Osaka). Who is a 20 year old who (I think) won her - and her country's- first ever Grand Slam. It can't be all about Serena and the umpire cannot ignore coaching, smashing racquets and being called a thief and being threatened to never umpire again.

OP posts:
BadLad · 09/09/2018 10:38

Jeff / Geoff Tarango was given violations for his outbursts in 1995 at Wimbledon, and players are regularly given violations for abusing their racquets. It isn't a point penalty unless it's their second violation. It rarely gets as far as a game penalty because they're usually sensible enough to stop fucking about or riled enough to storm off the court and refuse to play, as Tarango did.

Nutkins24 · 09/09/2018 10:40

Totally behind Serena on this. I’ve watched many a match where Male players have lost their temper and smashed their racquets, never seen them have points deducted.

MrsSteptoe · 09/09/2018 10:40

I listened to this last night with horror. According to Pat Cash and the second player he was commentating with - I honestly can't remember, but I don't mean the third man, who was a presenter rather than an ex-player/coach - Carlos Ramos is seemingly quite widely unpopular with players for inconsistent and unnecessarily attention-getting decision-making. From what I've read on Liam Broady's Twitter feed and elsewhere this morning, coaches ALL make gestures. There's a fine line between coaching and encouraging, but the first code violation was possibly ill judged (and once she'd got the first, she started to lose it).
ForgottenCoffee's word for word sounds pretty accurate to me. I don't have perfect recall, but I think she's got it pretty spot on.
Serena is a hot head who's learned a bit of how to control her temper, but she can't maintain it. She has form for this type of thing.
the way the crowd booed the victor left me sick to my stomach
I honestly don't think the NY crowd - and it is relevant here that the US Open is completely different to Wimbledon, it's a much more raucous atmosphere - were booing Osaka. They were booing Carlos Ramos. Serena is very highly thought in the US of for her outspokenness in the face of both sexism and racism in sport, and it's also a very hot topic currently because of the whole Colin Kapernick narrative.
That said, it is absolutely ghastly that poor Osaka had to take her trophy in such a toxic atmosphere, and nothing will ever compensate for the spoilation of what should have been the most glorious moment of her career.
I think it may well be true that Andy Murray frequently chucks his racket about the court and is rude to the umpire and I have never seen him penalised in this way, but I would also be interested to find out if there is a specific problem with the way that Carlos Ramos behaves, given Pat Cash's view. Pat Cash is a loudmouth, but I do believe him when he says that he's not alone in having no time for Ramos.