You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
-Short Attention Span Theater-
US Open 2018: Serena Williams accuses umpire of sexism after meltdown in final
2018-09-09
[BBC] Serena Williams said she was not cheating in the US Open final and accused the umpire of sexism in docking her a game.

Naomi Osaka's 6-2 6-4 victory was overshadowed by Williams' extraordinary outbursts in the second set. She received a code violation for coaching, a penalty point for racquet abuse and a game penalty for calling the umpire a "liar" and a "thief".

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 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."

The issues began when Williams' coach Patrick Mouratoglou made a hand gesture towards her early in the second set.
Williams denied she received coaching saying she would "never cheat to win and would rather lose" and demanded an apology from the umpire Carlos Ramos.

Mouratoglou, however, later admitted coaching.

Three games later Osaka was awarded a point when Williams was given another code violation for smashing her racquet.
Williams was furious, walking up to Ramos, shouting and pointing at him as the crowd started booing in support of the former world number one in a toxic atmosphere.

At the next change of ends Williams continued to rant, saying to Ramos: "you are a liar", "say you are sorry," and calling him a "thief" for awarding a point to Osaka.

"For me, it blows my mind," the 23-time Grand Slam champion said. "But I'm going to continue to fight for women and to fight for us to have equal.

"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 that want to express themselves, and want to be a strong woman.

"They're going to be allowed to do that because of today. Maybe it didn't work out for me, but it's going to work out for the next person."

In other (more enlightened) tennis star news.
Posted by:Besoeker

#26  What a cry baby. This seems to reflect the times. If you lose and don't get your way, throw a tantrum. We saw this behavior in the 2016
election when HRC lost. That tantrum is still on-going.
Posted by: JohnQC   2018-09-09 23:44  

#25  Anyone who says "sports builds character" should have to wear a shock collar.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2018-09-09 20:21  

#24  It's all been said, and so well, but there's something I still don't understand (and it doesn't help that I've watched about ten minutes of televised tennis in the past ten years): Beyond clique and claque, who the heck roots for Serena over the kid? Whatever happened to pulling for the underdog? Is this a NY thing? A tennis thing?
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220   2018-09-09 18:55  

#23  Black cannot be criticized or seen to fail now or RACISM demands the Inquisition for those who fail to honor it. We are so gripped by fear of being called something we are not but cannot fight by the other mindless sheep, that we abandon reason and common sense. We should all just accept that those that call us racist are that themselves, and ignore it! Damn O'Bama and his 8 years of smarmy bullcrap, setting us back on collision course with the entire issue
Posted by: NoMoreBS   2018-09-09 18:06  

#22  Le'Veon Bell?
Posted by: Frank G   2018-09-09 17:34  

#21  Such shameful and unsportsmanlike treatment of Naomi Osaka by the U.S. Open.
Aside from Serena's heinous behavior that IMO she'll be forever remembered by from now on;

Free Republic;
"Osaka spent what should have been her victory lap in tears. It had been her childhood dream to make it to the US Open and possibly play against Williams, her idol, in the final.
Here was a young girl who pulled off one of the greatest upsets ever, who fought for every point she earned, ashamed. Naomi Osaka covered her face with her black visor & cried. The crowd booed her and Katrina Adams, chairman and president of the USTA, opened the awards ceremony by denigrating the winner and lionizing Williams — whose ego, if anything, needs piercing."
“Perhaps it’s not the finish we were looking for today,” Adams said, “but Serena, you are a champion of all champions.” Addressing the crowd, Adams added, “This mama is a role model and respected by all.”

I am truly disgusted by the behavior of the US Open's comments dissing the true winner and encouraging the fans in such a hateful display. It's NOT all about Serena's loss but to Naomi's fabulous win!
Apologies should be from all to Naomi Osaka.

First Kaepernick, now Serena Williams, wonder which Nike darling will be next
Posted by: Jan   2018-09-09 16:08  

#20  Her N1KE moment.
Posted by: Anomalous Sources   2018-09-09 13:26  

#19  One more steroid dose, and she will be a man.

Seriously though; 36 yo woman still playing top level tennis? I want some of that. I step on a dog bone and clock out for the day. Here she is, roiding at the ref (6-2 6-4 is not close at all) because she is a woman and her opponent is a....woman? Sexism? What?
Posted by: swksvolFF   2018-09-09 13:26  

#18  Probably just a coincidence. Naomi Osaka's application for admission to George Mason University has been disapproved.

[Extreme sarc]
Posted by: Besoeker   2018-09-09 13:00  

#17  Hillary Williams __"She was supposed to win".

Osaka investigated for Russian collusion in 5...4...3....
Posted by: Mercutio   2018-09-09 12:56  

#16  Harvard admissions says" Hey, US Open, ur doin' it wrong! The black one is always favored over the Asian, even if the Asian is half black!"

Don't go away mad, Williams sisters, just go away.
Posted by: charger   2018-09-09 11:34  

#15  Mike #13 - Bingo!
Posted by: warthogswife   2018-09-09 11:21  

#14  Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
the band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
and somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
but there is no joy in Mudville — mighty Casey has struck out.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2018-09-09 07:50  

#13  ...I had a fair amount of respect for the Williams sisters and their accomplishments, even taking into account that they were a couple of divas. But this leads me to believe that - in the words of some fighter pilots I've known - she let her fangs get too far out in front of her.

She saw a little thing from Japan (who, by the by, had beaten her a while back) and she decided that the great Serena wasn't going to lose to this nobody. And when it didn't happen the way she wanted, she got pi$$ed and the madder she got, the dumber she got, and all the skills she had weren't going to dig her out. No sexism, no racism, nothing but a spoiled brat who didn't get what she wanted in what should have been an easy victory. And she's taking the Hilary Option(TM) - everybody else's fault but hers.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2018-09-09 07:39  

#12  Be interesting if Chase keeps her as ad candy/ spokeswoman.

Never liked the sisters or their asshole father
Posted by: Frank G   2018-09-09 07:26  

#11  A textbook case of an outburst of narcissistic rage.
Posted by: Herb McCoy   2018-09-09 07:14  

#10  Perhaps both Williams and Booker should pick another racket.
Posted by: Besoeker   2018-09-09 06:35  

#9  Let's not forget that very recently Williams uttered her [sic] unwavering support for Colin K.
Posted by: DooDahMan   2018-09-09 04:39  

#8  Tiger used to have an attitude.
...


Got better.
Posted by: newc   2018-09-09 03:35  

#7  Took the public quite a while to find who the winner was.
Posted by: European Conservative   2018-09-09 02:17  

#6  I watched it. Maybe the first violation didn't have to be given but it was. You need to show discipline. She broke her racket and insulted the umpire. Nothing sexist or racist about it.
Posted by: European Conservative   2018-09-09 02:06  

#5  I just happened to see some of that - she threw her racket down so hard it bent practically to a 90-degree angle. I was thinking 'wow... look at that!'

Time to retire and enjoy her fame.
Posted by: CrazyFool   2018-09-09 01:42  

#4  In soccer when a player, white or black, insults the referee, it's the red card. End of story.
Posted by: European Conservative   2018-09-09 00:54  

#3  The usual suspects are calling it - you guessed it - racism.
Posted by: Raj   2018-09-09 00:49  

#2  Next time don't insult the umpire and call it "fighting for women's rights".
Posted by: European Conservative   2018-09-09 00:44  

#1  Osaka destroyed her in the first set - Serena's finished as a pro tennis player.
Posted by: Raj   2018-09-09 00:15  

00:00