In both of the SM classes I’ve taken we have talked about the incident involving Venus and Serena Williams at Indian Wells. In case you don’t know the story, you can read a quick recap here.
I think that what happened at Indian Wells was very unfortunate. The trainer should have notified the officials, and the officials should have notified the crowd as soon as they knew that Venus was not going to be able to play the match. I think that the fans at the next match Serena played were very upset that they had not gotten to see the sisters play against each other. The fans were probably also listening to rumors that the sisters and their father had rigged the match, in order to let Serena win, and therefore advance to the finals. Things got ugly when the crowd started jeering and booing both Venus and her dad as they watched from the stands, as well as Serena as she tried to play the match. Things got even uglier when some especially rowdy fans reportedly started using offensive language and saying inappropriate and racist things to Venus and her dad.
I think that the sisters definitely have every right to boycott matches held Indian Wells. I don’t think that this issue should be considered a racist one though. Just because a few stupid fans decided to cross the line, does not mean that Indians Wells should be held responsible, or that the entire crown was to blame. I do believe though, that something should have been done to control the entire crowd. All of the jeering and booing by the fans was influencing Serena’s tennis game, and definitely not for the better. I think that the officials at Indian Wells could have handled this whole situation a lot better by reporting Venus’s withdrawal earlier and making an effort to calm the disruptive crowd during Serena’s finals match.
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From what I read in Serena's chapter, I got the impression that it was more than a few fans who were booing. To Serena, she could only really hear one man cheering for her. There may have been a handful who yelled racist epithets, although I have read comments posted by white fans in attendance, who also reported hearing racist slurs. My impression from watching the incident as it unfolded was that it was way beyond ordinary fan behavior and decorum at a tennis match.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is not their fault. Everything that was supposed to be done to alert the tournament director and others involved was completely ignored. They have all the right in the world to boycott the event, but now since it may become a mandatory event what will happen if they skip it. To me it just exemplifies a mob mentality and that everyone hides behind the group and the general voice of being racist and hurtful towards Serena, Venus and her dad.
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