Photo credit: Marcus The Artist
It’s been a media storm since Serena spoke up for herself to an umpire at The U.S. Grand Opening. He accused Serena Williams of receiving coaching while playing. To add insult to injury, when she addressed the umpire about his calls he then charged her with abusive language. Serena stated that every time she is invited to the U.S. Open they have an issue with her. She also stated that men say whatever they want out of emotion and they are never penalized for those emotions of anger and frustration. Yet, Serena was being brutally punished. What Serena didn’t mention is the even bigger issue; Not only is she a woman, but she is a Black woman. Ultimately with the penalties and points taken from Serena, Naomi Osaka won the U.S. Open. With so much controversy surrounding the game Naomi didn’t really get to properly relish in the moment of winning.
It’s no secret that both Serena and Venus Williams have been constantly attacked by the media, the public, and worldwide in different tennis matches since 1998. They’ve talked about how they looked- how “masculine” they are; The sisters have been accused of cheating by way of steroids; and have been called niggers to their faces. Per last weeks incident at the U.S. Open it seems the negative views that so many have had about Serena has consistently remained the same.
Did anyone take in consideration that Serena could possibly be more emotional than she is normally, because her hormones may still be imbalanced due to childbirth? What if Serena has Postpartum distress (depression) syndrome, and just isn’t sharing the information with the public? Maybe Serena just had enough of being attacked and treated unfairly, and stood up for herself and as for a role model to her daughter.
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
If you consider yourself to be woke regardless of your ethnicity you know that Black women, well Black people are not allowed to show emotion.I mean if you can’t be passionate and express emotion about your livelihood which is a sport how could you be considered an athlete? The same emotions that everyone else are able to openly display such as disdain or frustration automatically denotes our character. We are seen as “Angry and Immature,” while our Caucasian counterparts are viewed as “passionate and courageous” for displaying the very same emotions. I mean how dare she sass a White man in public? It’s an ugly truth but someone had to say it.
ICING ON THE CAKE
Since the incident an Australian news paper cartoonist drew an image of a large Black woman, with a large open mouth, jumping up and down like a toddler having a tantrum. You guessed it, it’s suppose to be Serena Williams. The cartoon shows the umpire asking Naomi if she could just let Serena win. The depiction is a disgrace and to even suggest that she was upset simply because she wanted to win is degrading to Serena’s athletism. It seems that umpires are now trying to ruin Serena’s career. She has been fined $17,000 and umpires all over are gathering to not work the tennis court if Serena is playing.
We as Black women must know that no matter how successful we are, we are still Black, and our Blackness outshines anything else that we are or what we have accomplished. Every now and then something like this happens to celebrities to remind them of their Blackness.
Unfortunately Serena had to be reminded and displayed as an example for all to see. We also will never know if Naomi Osaka really won the title.