Richard Williams playing the race card? LOL

[ATXtennisaddict]

http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news?slug=ap-wimbledon-richardwilliams&prov=ap&type=lgns

``When it was Steffi Graf or Chris Evert that won, or Monica Seles -- but when those two black girls came and beat up everyone, tennis was 'not exciting,''' he told The Associated Press on Thursday after watching Venus beat Maria Sharapova in the Wimbledon semifinals.

Hmm...what do u all think?

 

[BreakPoint]

Richard Williams playing the race card? Nah, you cannot be serious!

What's next? You're going to tell me that the earth is round?

He's been playing that card his whole life.

 

[counterpunch]

Richard Williams is an @hole, all he ever does is complain which makes no sense, his daughters are two of the most successful tennis players of recent history. I thought he might have changed after wimby last year (with the chair umpire fiasco), but it appears that he has not.

 

[alan-n]

The old man that cried wolf. His girls made him rich, he should shut up already.

I could care less fror watching the sisters for the same reason I don't want to watch Sharapova. Reason why?
- Ridiculously large racquets in the case of the Williams
- Ridiculous grunts
- Ridiculous swinging volleys
- Fake acts and drama in the case of the Williams
.... thats enough.

 

[Objective Danny]

Richard asinine comments sully Venus' win. He should be happy she's fit and in the finals. But NO! He reaches under the bottom of the deck and pulls The RACE CARD!

And for the life of him he can't figure out why some loathe his daughters.

 

[counterpunch]

yep, pretty much true. I think the reason that real tennis fans dislike the williamses is that they are so unorthodox and technically flawed. Sports fans may like them just because they are successful american players, but real fans in the know much prefer the fluid, sound players like fed and JHH. It got them a long way, he should be happy with what they have achieved.

 

[Phil Daddario]

The old man that cried wolf. His girls made him rich, he should shut up already.

I could care less fror watching the sisters for the same reason I don't want to watch Sharapova. Reason why?
- Rediculously large racquets in the case of the Williams
- Rediculous grunts
- Rediculous swinging volleys
- Fake acts and drama in the case of the Williams
.... thats enough.

It's "ridiculous".

And...yeah. Personally, the only thing that really gets to me is Serena's fashion designing. She wears her stuff occasionally on court, and really just looks like a...

You fill in the blank.

 

[alan-n]

LOL thanks. You mean Serena the Punk Rocker..... LOL

 

[friedalo1]

Richard Williams is a idiot, the same with Shavapova dad.

 

[TwistServe]

Richard Williams is a idiot, the same with Shavapova dad.

Sharapova's dad doesn't seem to belong... he looks like someone that molested her when she was younger... i know that isn't true but thats just what I think about every time they show him on camera..

 

[Kobble]

I think he just wants to get in the history books. His daughters provide him the opportunity to be heard by the mainstream, and he jumps all over it. He just wants his name by Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and all the rest of the famous African-Americans. Sadly, I believe he is going to get remembered, because when he is really old he will put on the sweet old man act, and then everyone born yesterday will never know the S.O.B he really was. Just some of the perks of growing old.

 

[slice bh compliment]

I think he just wants to get in the history books.
...
Sadly, I believe he is going to get remembered, because when he is really old he will put on the sweet old man act, and then everyone born yesterday will never know the S.O.B he really was. Just some of the perks of growing old.

A little off topic here, but...apart from the African-American thing, I thought you were talking about Jimmy Connors!

 

[BreakPoint]

yep, pretty much true. I think the reason that real tennis fans dislike the williamses is that they are so unorthodox and technically flawed. Sports fans may like them just because they are successful american players, but real fans in the know much prefer the fluid, sound players like fed and JHH. It got them a long way, he should be happy with what they have achieved.

I agree. The main reason I don't like watching the Williams sisters play has nothing to do with race. It's that their games are just so ugly to watch. The loud screaming doesn't help, either. Seriously, Venus's long arms and legs just make her look so awkward running around and flailing her arms and racquet around. Not smooth like JHH and Federer.

 

[edberg505]

Sharapova's dad doesn't seem to belong... he looks like someone that molested her when she was younger... i know that isn't true but thats just what I think about every time they show him on camera..

Hahahahaha, that's too damn funny. He looks like a mean muppet.

 

[AndrewD]

Sharapova's dad doesn't seem to belong... he looks like someone that molested her when she was younger... i know that isn't true but thats just what I think about every time they show him on camera..

Mate, that's a pretty twisted thing to think of anyone and it's pretty worrying that it's what pops into your head whenever you see him.

 

[Progressive10s]

No rivalries

Tennis was boring for most fans because of the Williams-Williams finals. The game thrives with the McEnroe-Borg, McEnroe-Connors, or Evert-Navratilova rivalries to name a few. It has nothing to do with race. With the diversity movement within the USTA, we will see more playes of color in international tennis soon. We're already seeing more players of color on Division I men's and women's tennis teams now.

 

[Morpheus]

http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news?slug=ap-wimbledon-richardwilliams&prov=ap&type=lgns

``When it was Steffi Graf or Chris Evert that won, or Monica Seles -- but when those two black girls came and beat up everyone, tennis was 'not exciting,''' he told The Associated Press on Thursday after watching Venus beat Maria Sharapova in the Wimbledon semifinals.

Hmm...what do u all think?

Sure he refers to them as little black girls because they are/were. His main point, though, is that people grew weary of their dominance, which is also true.

 

[AndrewD]

Sure he refers to them as little black girls because they are/were. His main point, though, is that people grew weary of their dominance, which is also true.

I must be reading it wrong then. His main point seems to very clearly be that people grew weary of their dominance because they are black - unlike Steffi Graf or Chris Evert.

Of course, he's forgetting that Evonne Goolagong is Aboriginal (therefore, obviously not caucasian) and you'd have to go a long way to find someone more beloved. I don't recall people ever turned against her, even when she was playing Chris Evert. Yes, I know she wasn't as dominant as the Williams sisters but a lot of people wish she had been.

Perhaps if Serena and Venus had dominated with the same amount of grace and humility as Goolagong then we'd be having a very different discussion.

 

[Rabbit]

I remember back when Martina Navratilova was winning everything in sight. It was fairly boring then. Chris Evert once commented after losing the U.S. Open final to MN that "she should join the other (men's) tour and play where she could get some competition".

I also remember Richard Williams discussing some business ventures with the Japanese. He was going to buy the World Trade Center at one point and some other real estate in NYC. The guy is delusional. Part of the reason that his daughters aren't liked, a big part, is because of his constant posturing and reminding everyone they shouldn't like them because they are black. Hell, he encourages more than any fan I've ever talked to.

From what I've heard from folks who've been there, the Williams sisters are not nice people. They are not nice to those folks who cater to them, protect them, and generally they are mean self-absorbed people. Serena wants to be in fashion design and pretty much has the taste of Elvis. It's really sad that money can ruin people as quickly and thoroughly as it has these two girls.

Oh, and why does Richard Williams not bash his daughter for having a white boyfriend?

 

[Camilio Pascual]

what do u all think?

I think he is:

1. One of the greatest coaches of the Open Era.
2. A racist with a chip on his shoulder.
3. Acting up to get the attention back on him that waned in the aftermath of the divorce.

It pains me to say this because I am a fan of Serena and a huge fan of Venus.
Richard Williams insulted me and millions of other elderly white males with his public racist comments and, barring a public apology and retraction, I will not forgive him for that. His public comments are becoming more pathetic by the year.

 

[Morpheus]

This is a little of topic, but some of you may find the IAP tests on the Harvard web site of interest. The race test is quite interesting...and your results may surprise you.

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/selectatest.html

 

[joe sch]

SOS - He is the racist !

 

[theace21]

Venus and Serena seem like they have a good head on their shoulders despite their parents. They are bright, personable, and really seem to support each other. Their dad is an idiot looking for attention.

 

[edge]

From what I've heard from folks who've been there, the Williams sisters are not nice people. They are not nice to those folks who cater to them, protect them, and generally they are mean self-absorbed people.

True, true, I know a handful of pros (male and black) that worked with the family. They were promised to be part of the big plan when the sistas got to the promise land. They were paid minimum wage, not the usual $50 - 90$ per hour for teaching pros. They also use to babysit and help the sistas with their home schooling. And when the sistas made it, they were discarded like used tires. They had given the best years of their lives to hit and nurture the sistas and Richard just used and abused them. Now forgottten they have to fend for themselves as teaching pros promoting themselves as pro who worked with the sistas. Richard has used and abused every tennis pro the girls had worked with. Not one of them has received any thanks or public gratitute from the family. Not even Rick Macci who ended up suing them and settling for an undisclosed sum. All the others were forgotten. Shame, shame. Yes, Richard is very crafty, self promoting and ruthless rascist.

 

[krnboijunsung]

That's so stupid. No one likes it when one person wins over and over for string of years. It does get boring. In ANY sport. Would you guys like to watch Spurs go at it for four years straight? Or the Yankees? Or the Patriots?

He shouldn't blame the media when they criticize the Williams sisters because they've gotten off track of tennis these past few years. He should save his mouth for coaching his daughters, instead of making up crap that the media and fans are racist towards the Williams sisters. The whole Williams family puts the fault and blame one someone else. When the sisters aren't dominating they don't blame their skills, they blame something else. When they aren't getting positive media showings, they blame the media instead of their poor skills.

 

[edge]

No one was bored with Tiger always winning...

they loved Tiger for the gracious champion that he is. Note that he too played in a white dominated sport. He too had to deal with racist remarks (remember the Fuzzy Zoeller incident?). But Tiger win and loses graciously. He had never said,"I would have won if I played 10% better," after being trashed. Richard and the sistas should learn from Tiger how to be a gracious champion and have the public adore you. That's why Tiger gets $85 million a year in endorsments notwithstanding being a multiethnic man in a white corporate endorsement world.

 

[35ft6]

I like Richard Williams. The thing that makes him "crazy," to me, is HOW he says things, not WHAT he says. A lot of the crazy **** he says contains a surprisingly high level of truth in them. You can tell he hasn't had a lot of higher formal education, but he's no dummy at all. Let's face it, there is quite a bit of racism in America, and living in Compton is probably going to give a person a pretty unique perspective on life in these United States. My white friends in the ******* are "racist"... my Asian grandmother is fearful of black people... my Italian grandmother wasn't crazy about black people, democrats, and Polish people... and my Italian grandmother was a lovable kook. I like Richard Williams for the same reason I liked my Grandmother. She was a really great person, nice to everybody for the most part, but had some old-fashioned ideas, just like Richard.

 

[Kevin Patrick]

Did anyone hear that Richard gave an interview to the BBC in which he said he took Venus & Serena to visit a former tennis pro who now sold hamburgers?
Venus was asked about in her press conference & said she had never heard that story. I'm sure the entire Williams family finds it hilarious that the media are obsessed with anything he says. He's like that eccentric relative that we all have.

 

[Chadwixx]

if it wasnt for "whitey" the williams sisters would still be stuck in the the ghetto.

the guy knows nothing about tennis, they were taught by the finest pro's in florida, all for free. if thats his definition of racism he is a bigger fool than he looks.

btw he needs togo to the denist, all the crack he smoked in the past has ruined his teeth.

 

[krnboijunsung]

I just think he should just stick on training his daughters back into dominating figures again, just to prove people wrong. Don't bring in the race card. Just go out and do your job, so you can laugh at all the doubters.

 

[araghava]

To me the Williams sisters are to tennis what Shaq is to basketball. Poor technique but superior physical ability. They are able to get away with the lack of technique and lack of tennis court savvy because they are physically far better atheletes than any of the other players.

Same thing with Shaq. He doesn't have half the moves of a Hakeem or Jabbar but he is physically so dominating that it doesn't matter. It make for ugly but highly effective basketball.

Again similar to Shaq, tennis purists hate the way the Williams sisters play but the general sports audience love their power and speed.

 

[BreakPoint]

I also remember Richard Williams discussing some business ventures with the Japanese. He was going to buy the World Trade Center at one point and some other real estate in NYC. The guy is delusional.

Can you imagine if he did indeed buy the World Trade Center? He'd now be saying that Osama Bin Laden targeted the WTC because it was owned by a black man!

It would've been interesting to see what he would have done if he lost all of the family's money by investing in the WTC.

 

[Gary Britt]

Tennis was boring for most fans because of the Williams-Williams finals.

I don't agree with this. I think many of these Williams-Williams finals were boring because the quality of tennis wasn't always very high. One of them was *always* off their game considerably due to injury or whatever, and sometimes it looked like one sister was carrying the other just to put a show on.

I think if the matches had been all out, very competitive, both sisters playing well, and going for the throat, then those matches would have been anything but boring.

Gary Britt

 

[Gary Britt]

Can you imagine if he did indeed buy the World Trade Center? He'd now be saying that Osama Bin Laden targeted the WTC because it was owned by a black man!

More likely, he, Al Sharpton, Reverends Jackson & Farahkan would all be saying USA white christian males conspired, due to racism against blacks, with Jewish interests to allow the poor misguided UBL to target a building owned by a black man.

Hollywood would make a movie endorsing these ideas. Starring Tom Hanks,Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon. Steven Spielberg directing.

Gary Britt

 

[alan-n]

I just think he should just stick on training his daughters back into dominating figures again, just to prove people wrong. Don't bring in the race card. Just go out and do your job, so you can laugh at all the doubters.

The problem here is, it wasn't him that trained his daughters to the top of the game.