L.A Times: Serena Should Be Punished

That was such a horrendous call by the linesperson and reaction by Serena last night. Such a shame but the US Open itslef has become a joke and it was on full display last night.

The poor fans sat through days of rain delays for this? For an umpire to decide a close gripping match on a foot fault that slow motion camera could not even see and then for all of the fans to have to endure Serena's surly tirade. Despicable!!

What about the US Open itself. The prices for tickets, parking and food are egregious. Then if you do decide to pay those prices they cram so many people onto the grounds that you have to wait many minutes to use the bathroom and the same to order food.

If you have tickets for a day that is rained out you are screwed as well. They will only give you 50% of face value in most cases.
The US Open needs a leadership change!!!
 
Serena's press conference was really a joke. I've watched a number of hers in the past, and certainly didn't agree with her behavior, but did put it down as quirks of her personality, etc. John McEnroe has done many arrogant, opinionated, self-serving interviews for example, but many just put it down to him just being himself. Did anyone think Serena was going to change her history in this press conference?

As someone mentioned before, even her reply to the weather delay question shows she was basically talking out of her ass and not thinking clearly. In a way, the reporter tried to give Serena a gracious way out by suggesting perhaps the delays had worked her nerves and she was especially on edge with heightened her angry tirade. She couldn't even clue herself. After the comment she made, I turned it off totally disgusted with her stupid remarks. She is not a stupid woman I believe, but her common sense sadly lacks many things.

I've no opinion on how the WTA or the powers that be should act regarding her behavior. They will do as they will do regardless of what any of us thinks. Apologizing to the linesperson...if you really think they did something wrong, I can't see why Serena would do so. For HOW she reacted to the questionable call, I believe Serena should have/should apologize for her over the top threats and language.

In some ways, I think Serena should have skipped the post match press conference and taken the fine for that instead of making the incident worse by a truly pathetic response during. Was moderating a channel with over a 1,000 people in it watching this match live, many Serena Williams fans, and really everyone was just stunned by her behavior. Totally "off the chain" as the saying goes.
 
She is a cop out an excuse maker plain and simple. What happened now puts her as the perfect icon to show one's kids and say, Ok this is how you DO NOT want to act.
 
MichaelChang said:
I would think so.
But it is for sure the lineswoman feels threatened. Look, a 6 foot muscle women shouting/raging in infront of you with her racket in hand, and swear to shove the ball in your throat...
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If this lady is a New Yorker, I'm sure she wasn't sweating it too much. Those little Asian ladies in NYC are tough cookies. They'll steal your seat in the subway quicker than Serena will make an excuse for losing.
 
35ft6 said:
If this lady is a New Yorker, I'm sure she wasn't sweating it too much. Those little Asian ladies in NYC are tough cookies. They'll steal your seat in the subway quicker than Serena will make an excuse for losing.
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What an assclown.


*sigh*
 
Gaudio2004 said:
Just like all American players; she lacks discipline. Just look at how big of an ******* Roddick is to umpires, look at Johnny McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, too.. All lacking discipline. USA For you.
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Like Sampras and Chang, too? Please. Stop hating on American tennis.
 
She definitely needs to be disciplined. Linespeople need to know they can make calls without being verbally abused/intimidated by star players who demand special treatment. If linespeople don't have that security, the integrity of the game will be questioned.
 
Kimmy naw give you no break
USTA naw give you no break
Umpire naw give you no break
Not even McEnroe naw give you no break

Bad boys bad boys
Watcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do
when they come for you
Bad boys, bad boys
Watcha gonna do, watcha gonna do
when they come for you
 
Suspend her 3 months. This is a unique situation and needs to be stopped right here with an example made of Serena. You cannot talk to linespeople, let alone threaten them, no less on a call you cannot see for yourself.
 
This Serena v Mac talk is ridiculous. Mac never threatened a linesperson physically with a racquet that could strike them with one step and one swing. Chair umpires are 5-10 feet in the air and not under the same theoretical physical danger.
 
let's not drag Venus into this. Serena is the one with a history of excuses.

Venus can be petulant after a loss and so is Fed. We can't expect them all to be Edberg.

I'm all for punishing Serena (minus the racism) but Venus didn't do anything.
 
BTW, the lineswoman called it RIGHT AWAY. It was less than a second after the ball left the racquet before it cleared the net- you cannot call it any sooner considering they are not supposed to say anything until after the ball strike given the chance she aborts it to try again.
 
I just hope and pray that the WTA or ITF don't take it easy on her. I hope they set an example for everyone else out there, now and in the future. Because sadly, she said that others have said worse. Well I'm not sure about that, but because others have done similar things it almost gave her a free pass to act like a total ***** and in a mild case a psychopath. But with Serena, she's totally deluded and irrational that she will say the world is against her. You'll see. Unless her lawyers or PR people tell her otherwise.
 
oh they weren't very different

and please who in their right mind thinks her threat was anything believable...like she is going to attack the lineswomen in front of hundreds of spectators and live TV. gimme a break
 
scootad. said:
and please who in their right mind thinks her threat was anything believable...like she is going to attack the lineswomen in front of hundreds of spectators and live TV. gimme a break
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By definition, you do not have to act on a threat for it to be a threat. An acted upon threat is of course assault. And of course, its beyond improper to threaten a line judge. Name calling is something else.
 
scootad. said:
oh they weren't very different

and please who in their right mind thinks her threat was anything believable...like she is going to attack the lineswomen in front of hundreds of spectators and live TV. gimme a break
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Thank God she didn't act upon her threat or else Serena would be in jail for murder, or attempted murder.
 
Morrissey said:
Thank God she didn't act upon her threat or else Serena would be in jail for murder, or attempted murder.
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the point is she would never have been able to follow through with such a threat because of security, tv, spectators, etc. that's why the idea of considering her threat as anything more than releasing hot air is silly
 
Sticks and stones.

This has become a bit of a manufactured outrage with a dash of racism for spice. She lost it, she said the stuff people say when they lose their temper. There was never any realistic threat.

The point of professional sport is not sport but profit, the business value is enhanced by Serena. It'd be fiscally irresponsible to hold her out of tournaments that she could bring revenue into. People have invested time and more importantly money into the tournaments, sponsors have legitimate interests and rights too. Fine her whatever, say all the right things, write up a list of right things for her to read to a camera and then try to maximize the potential financial upsides generated by the spike in publicity.

All that said, if someone can successfully make the case that a suspension would generate greater total revenues/profits, then that would naturally be the correct course to take as well.
 
desmo said:
Sticks and stones.

This has become a bit of a manufactured outrage with a dash of racism for spice. She lost it, she said the stuff people say when they lose their temper. There was never any realistic threat.

The point of professional sport is not sport but profit, the business value is enhanced by Serena. It'd be fiscally irresponsible to hold her out of tournaments that she could bring revenue into. People have invested time and more importantly money into the tournaments, sponsors have legitimate interests and rights too. Fine her whatever, say all the right things, write up a list of right things for her to read to a camera and then try to maximize the potential financial upsides generated by the spike in publicity.

All that said, if someone can successfully make the case that a suspension would generate greater total revenues/profits, then that would naturally be the correct course to take as well.
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The best post written here. Agree 100%
 
desmo said:
Sticks and stones.

This has become a bit of a manufactured outrage with a dash of racism for spice. She lost it, she said the stuff people say when they lose their temper. There was never any realistic threat.

The point of professional sport is not sport but profit, the business value is enhanced by Serena. It'd be fiscally irresponsible to hold her out of tournaments that she could bring revenue into. People have invested time and more importantly money into the tournaments, sponsors have legitimate interests and rights too. Fine her whatever, say all the right things, write up a list of right things for her to read to a camera and then try to maximize the potential financial upsides generated by the spike in publicity.

All that said, if someone can successfully make the case that a suspension would generate greater total revenues/profits, then that would naturally be the correct course to take as well.
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If the wta makes an announcement that they will hang Serena tomorrow live on cbs at 4pm, would that get a lot of ratings? More ratings than the men's final? Yes it will. So give me a successful case that the hanging of Serena would not generate greater total revenue/profit than the men's final. If you can't then you agree that she should be hung.

Of course fking not. Just because something makes money doesn't mean it should be allowed. So just because Serena makes money for the tour doesn't mean that she shouldn't be punished.
 
All this overreaction like she actually attacked the the woman is ludicrous. So she was getting blown out, got a bad call, and flipped. That's sports. But why not use the opportunity so people can vent their frustrations over Serena- I guess.

I think the situation hurt Clijsters more than the lines woman or Serena anyway.
 
As Mary Carillo just stated, if tennis values the sport, and if they want to show that the sport has integrity, and wishes to gain the respect of the public, Serena needs to be suspended.

It's as simple as that.
 
i hope she gets suspended for a few months and cleans up her image... she's given tennis a very bad image in the US, even though she's a GS champion
 
rob61 said:
Yelling at umpires, lines persons, etc is one thing. However, phyically threatening one is another. Such behavior is criminal and is considered assault. ("shove this #($)(# ball down your $#()@*#$ thoat is a threat of phyical violence against another person).

This is much more serious than just yelling at an umpire. This is criminal.
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Give me a f***ing break! Criminal??!! Do you think that she was actually going to push the ball down her throat? Is that even doable?
 
During a time when the country is trying to figure out a way to solve the healthcare situation, Serena goes around threatening bodily harm. That is just not cool.
 
scootad. said:
the point is she would never have been able to follow through with such a threat because of security, tv, spectators, etc. that's why the idea of considering her threat as anything more than releasing hot air is silly
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Oh, since she didn't kill her literally I feel much better now. Whew!
 
rommil said:
During a time when the country is trying to figure out a way to solve the healthcare situation, Serena goes around threatening bodily harm. That is just not cool.
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No it is not. She does enough harm to her own body eating Krispy Kreme and McDonalds. No need to take out frustrations on an innocent rule abiding lineswoman.
 
Defcon said:
She definitely should be suspended and maybe even banned from professional tennis. To act like this and then not even acknowledge your fault and not apologize shows her true character.
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Banned?! That is extreme. She should be fined though. What she did was not acceptable... I did not like it either how she didn't acknowledge her messup.
 
Casticus said:
If the wta makes an announcement that they will hang Serena tomorrow live on cbs at 4pm, would that get a lot of ratings? More ratings than the men's final? Yes it will. So give me a successful case that the hanging of Serena would not generate greater total revenue/profit than the men's final. If you can't then you agree that she should be hung.

Of course fking not. Just because something makes money doesn't mean it should be allowed. So just because Serena makes money for the tour doesn't mean that she shouldn't be punished.
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Straw man, pure and simple. There is no real possibility of a hanging. It's like attempting to make some sort of rhetorical point based on the theoretical assumption that pigs will fly onto the court at match point. Just as I never said she should not be punished- straw man number two.
 
Deuce said:
As Mary Carillo just stated, if tennis values the sport, and if they want to show that the sport has integrity, and wishes to gain the respect of the public, Serena needs to be suspended.

It's as simple as that.
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Yet did Carillo say Hingis should be suspended for her obviously homophobia-laced "man" comments about Mauresmo? At the time, many knew her slur meant more than physical appearance, but no action taken. Carillo speaks with a forked tongue.
 
THUNDERVOLLEY said:
Yet did Carillo say Hingis should be suspended for her obviously homophobia-laced "man" comments about Mauresmo? At the time, many knew her slur meant more than physical appearance, but no action taken. Carillo speaks with a forked tongue.
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She still didn't go up to her and say she'd kill her. Either way, just because something went unpunished, doesn't mean everything goes unpunished. Threatening someone's life is a more serious matter.
 
They just mentioned Serena will be fined $10k for the incident. Like Morrisey said, that's just about 3 days of Krispy Kreme. Oh well, it would be interesting to see how the crowd reception will be tomorrow.
 
Keifers said:
Yes, that will be quite interesting.

The question in my mind is: when will Serena step forward into her true role of champion and role model in the Arthur Ashe mold -- a champion in tennis and a champion in life ?

And away from the old, tired, no-longer-relevant-for-her, aggressive, defensive, touchy, ever-vigilant-for-the-slightest-hint-of-being-disrespected-or-wronged, never-apologize-for-or-even-acknowledge-any-wrongdoing way of being that is, unfortunately, exemplified by her father, Richard Williams ?

Yes, Richard and Oracene and Serena and Venus have some up the hard way. They've had to fight every step of the way, for everything they've achieved and received. And they've fought magnificently and worked with incredible diligence and determination and smarts.

They've reached incredible heights, but there is one more peak. This is the last, crucial, most-difficult peak they must climb: step away from what has gotten them so far, take a deep breath, and step forward and up into the life and universal regard they will have truly earned.

I'm really pulling for them to see this last peak and to summit it with class and with style.
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Wonderfully put.
 
They are replaying the match right now on Eurosport, and can be seen online streaming here: http://de.justin.tv/freddy49x1 Its at 2-2 in the second set now if anyone wants to see it real-time, though I realize a lot have watched replays of just the "incident". Curious if they will run the replay fully to the end of the match, or stop it before the outburst. We'll see..
 
WillAlwaysLoveYouTennis said:
They are replaying the match right now on Eurosport, and can be seen online streaming here: http://de.justin.tv/freddy49x1 Its at 2-2 in the second set now if anyone wants to see it real-time, though I realize a lot have watched replays of just the "incident". Curious if they will run the replay fully to the end of the match, or stop it before the outburst. We'll see..
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Thanks for posting the link...I missed the 2nd set. Clijsters played well; very disappointed in Serena for her loss of self-control.
 
NP. They did play the entire episode, and Serena's exact words were, "I'm sorry but a lot of people have said way worse." For those who say she never apologized LOL or admitted anything. She just didn't say it anymore.

Was really tough situation for Kim, because certainly she didn't wish it to end in such a way likely more than Serena or anyone else. Thatbeing said, looking forward to Kim vs. Wozzi and hopefully it will be a supernally pleasant if hard-fought battle of a match.
 
THUNDERVOLLEY said:
Proof of intent required; failing that, this is a lot of noise about nothing.
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You mean like shaking the racket (weapon) at her in a threatening manner? Go do that the next time one of your neighbors bothers you. Then report back after you get out of state prison...

Serena is lucky of the racial mix in Queens - otherwise she might have gotten perp walked by an 'attention seeking' District Attorney who wants to be governor some day...
 
West Coast Ace said:
You mean like shaking the racket (weapon) at her in a threatening manner? Go do that the next time one of your neighbors bothers you. Then report back after you get out of state prison....
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Hehe, quite funny.

West Coast Ace said:
Serena is lucky of the racial mix in Queens - otherwise she might have gotten perp walked by an 'attention seeking' District Attorney who wants to be governor some day...
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Funny as well because I'm from Queens and alot of this is true.
 
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