A chorus of media spoke out after Serena Williams accused umpire Carlos Ramos of sexism following her Saturday U.S. Open Finals loss to Japan’s Naomi Osaka.
The majority defended Williams, including the legendary Billie Jean King. Several supporters quoted a quickly released Washington Post column by Sally Jenkins entitled, “At U.S. Open, power of Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka is overshadowed by an umpire’s power play.” (RELATED: Serena Williams Plays The ‘Woman Card’ In US Open Dispute With Umpire)
Williams abused her racket, but Ramos did something far uglier: He abused his authority. Champions get heated — it’s their nature to burn. All good umpires in every sport understand that the heart of their job is to help temper the moment, to turn the dial down, not up, and to be quiet stewards of the event rather than to let their own temper play a role in determining the outcome. Instead, Ramos made himself the chief player in the women’s final. He marred Osaka’s first Grand Slam title and one of Williams’s last bids for all-time greatness. Over what? A tone of voice. Male players have sworn and cursed at the top of their lungs, hurled and blasted their equipment into shards, and never been penalized as Williams was in the second set of the U.S. Open final.
(1/2) Several things went very wrong during the @usopen Women’s Finals today. Coaching on every point should be allowed in tennis. It isn’t, and as a result, a player was penalized for the actions of her coach. This should not happen.
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) September 9, 2018
(2/2) When a woman is emotional, she’s “hysterical” and she’s penalized for it. When a man does the same, he’s “outspoken” & and there are no repercussions. Thank you, @serenawilliams, for calling out this double standard. More voices are needed to do the same.
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) September 9, 2018
The more I think about what Carlos Ramos did with verbal abuse penalty to @serenawilliams, the more I find it to be an abomination. No chance a man saying the same things would have been similarly penalized. No sport has done more for gender equity, but there’s more work to do.
— Brett Haber (@BrettHaber) September 9, 2018
Every word of this: “[The umpire] took what began as a minor infraction and turned it into one of the nastiest controversies in the history of tennis, all because he couldn’t take a woman speaking sharply to him.” https://t.co/TE5GwC9TQ3
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) September 9, 2018
I agree 100% with every word in this Sally Jenkins column on @serenawilliams and the #usopenfinals. Even the commas. Everything. https://t.co/sOoU7dMcb7
— Paul Begala (@PaulBegala) September 9, 2018
“We’ll never know if young Osaka really won the 2018 U.S. Open or had it handed to her by a man who was going to make Serena Williams feel his power.” https://t.co/mj39dMN6LY
— katie rosman (@katierosman) September 9, 2018
.@SerenaWilliams, you have changed the world for the better. That’s worth more than a match to me. Congratulations, @Naomi_Osaka_ on your groundbreaking win.
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) September 9, 2018
“When are you going to give me my apology? You owe me an apology. Say it! Say you’re sorry! Then don’t talk to me.”—@serenawilliams
And I’ve never been more inspired.
— Donovan X. Ramsey (@iDXR) September 9, 2018
Must read from Sally Jenkins on @serenawilliams
“Williams understood that she was the only person in the stadium who had the power to make that incensed crowd stop booing. And she did it beautifully. ‘Let’s make this the best moment we can,” she said.’” https://t.co/80gAeEVl1Z
— Karen Travers (@karentravers) September 9, 2018
.@serenawilliams – you are the definition of grace and strength.
— Rachel Martin (@rachelnpr) September 9, 2018
Australian journalists Peter Lalor and Caroline Wilson were in the minority in their criticism of Williams.
“It was her McEnroe moment, it was hard to watch,” Lalor said on “Offsiders” ABC Sunday morning. “Nobody owes you an apology, you owe a lot of people an apology and when you calm down, I hope you realize that.”
“The comment about having a daughter, women around the world would have cringed at that,” Wilson said. “This is a woman who threatened to shove a ball down an umpire’s throat and was only fined $10,000. This is a woman who, again, verbally threatened a linesman in 2014. People have not stood up to Serena Williams.”
“She is doing a terrible disservice to women’s rights, to the #metoo movement, to gender equality,” Caroline Wilson says of @serenawilliams‘s comments after her #USOpen final loss.
“What she is is a bad sport… she’s not fighting for women’s rights, that is a joke.”#Offsiders pic.twitter.com/6JSgGhl44K
— Offsiders ABC (@OffsidersABC) September 9, 2018
A few others dared to criticize the tennis star.
Serena Williams didn’t win the US Open because she was beaten by a better opponent on the day. Her behaviour and ‘playing the victim’ isn’t certainly new to tennis or to sport in general. And often it’s the most spectacular when those involved aren’t used to losing.
— Adam White (@White_Adam) September 9, 2018
The petulant, self-entitled, narcissistic @serenawilliams should publicly apologize to @Naomi_Osaka_ and to all kids who might have been watching today’s final. Instead of graciously losing and granting Osaka her due moment, she acts without any class or decorum. Schmuck.
— Gad Saad (@GadSaad) September 9, 2018
Oh boy. Petulant narcissist @serenawilliams should apparently win the Noble Peace Prize for calling the umpire names because bruh she is fighting for women’s rights. I look forward to hear weighing in on the treatment of women in the Middle East. https://t.co/YVJCCuu1iD
— Gad Saad (@GadSaad) September 9, 2018
I’ve received some pretty compelling arguments from @serenawilliams‘ fans. Tough to argue against such reason and eloquence. pic.twitter.com/zbtXxKaN9N
— Gad Saad (@GadSaad) September 9, 2018
