Fox News host Jesse Watters came to the defense of tennis superstar Serena Williams, who was penalized for her behavior in the U.S. Open championship match, on “The Story With Martha MacCallum” on Wednesday evening.
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“It’s Serena Williams. She’s the best tennis player in the world. She deserves deference in a moment like this. This was the second set of a championship match. A final,” Jesse Watters stated. “She was losing and she was frustrated, and I agree she shouldn’t have thrown her racket but the whole coaching thing from the box, it happens all the time, that should have been a slap on the wrist.”
Williams went off on chair umpire Carlos Ramos during the finals match in the U.S. Open championship because he gave her multiple penalties throughout the match. The three penalties resulted in her opponent being awarded a game, which helped her defeat Williams. Williams accused the judge of being sexist and demanded an apology from the umpire for accusing her of cheating, which her coach acknowledged was true. (RELATED: ‘Terrible Disservice To Women’s Rights’ — Here Are The Reactions To Serena Williams’ US Open Meltdown)
Other tennis umpires are banding together to support their colleague amidst a “lack of institutional support.” (RELATED: Tennis Umpires Reportedly Considering Serena Williams Boycott)
“I do think though, it’s like teeing up Michael Jordan at the end of the game, game seven, 2 minutes left and they are down by 2. You don’t do that. They took away the match from the fans. They took it away from Serena — she had chance to come back. She should have gotten a warning for that but it would have let the verbal abuse slide just to keep the integrity of the match,” he continued.
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