Sports

[deepwaterdotter]

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@gardenman wrote:

Serena has a reputation of looking to her coach's box frequently when she's struggling. Players are allowed to receive coaching between games, but Serena looks to her coach during games and that's not allowed. She's done it for years and typically gets away with it, but this official wasn't having it. She should have accepted the reprimand and moved on. Her tantrum just made her look childish.

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Astute observations and well-stated.

[lovesrecess]

I just saw a commercial tonight that says Naomi will be on the Today Show on Monday morning to talk about the controversy surrounding her win at the US Open. She should not be talking about Serena at all....she should be on TV to be honored for her win, not to be grilled about Serena's tantrum. Serena continues to steal her thunder because of her awful behavior. I hope the tv hosts don't spend their time rehashing Serena and instead congratulate Naomi and talk about her future. Serena is the past. Naomi owns her future!

[AuntG]

I don't cheat! Oops, the coach just admitted we cheated and got caught. Now I'll play some other card instead of apologizing.

[lovesrecess]

Serena is digging in her heels on the gender issue. Big mistake. She just can't seem to deal with the fact she was defeated by someone 16 years younger who clearly outplayed her. Bitter pill to swallow I suppose.

[puttypiesmom]

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@lovesrecess wrote:

Serena is digging in her heels on the gender issue. Big mistake. She just can't seem to deal with the fact she was defeated by someone 16 years younger who clearly outplayed her. Bitter pill to swallow I suppose.

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I doubt that's it at all.  She is for women and her beef is treat me the same way you treat the male tennis players.  One stated he has said and done much worse than Serena but was never penalized and he's one of many male players who have had disagreements.  That's the issue.  

[lovesrecess]

I have no idea which specific male player you are referring to...but her behavior was unacceptable from anyone of either gender. Trying to turn this into a sexist issue instead of the fact she had a tantrum and was nasty to the judge is disingenuous. And yes...I am old enough to remember the "bad boys" like Connor, McEnroe, and others. They filled the stands with fans who wanted to watch their blowups....I think most felt Serena was above that.

[puttypiesmom]

@lovesrecessthe information is out there if you're interested. Tennis players such as Andy Roddick and James Blake have commented.   

google  

male tennis pros confirm serenas penalty was sexist and admit to saying worse on the court

[gardenman]

I should also point out that other female players have said and done worse without being penalized, so it's not purely sexist. It was just an official who wasn't putting up with it that day. You can jaywalk in front of a cop every day and not get a summons, but catch him on the wrong day and you get nailed. It's not that you did anything different, you just got caught one day when he wasn't willing to overlook it. Serena has a long, long history of looking to her coach's box when things aren't going well. Her coach even admitted he was trying to coach her. Did he just decide to try and coach her from the stands this one time and they got caught in their first ever attempt? Not likely. Serena got caught trying to cheat, threw a hissy fit over it, and is trying to spin it into being the official's fault. It's not the official's fault. He didn't smash her racket. He didn't tell her to look towards her coach for help. He just enforced the rules. Arguing that others have done worse is a charade. "But your honor, while it's true I was speeding, others were speeding even faster and weren't punished, so I shouldn't have to pay the penalty!" Un, no. It doesn't work that way.

[physicsnut]

Testing should be done in tennis for steroids

[deepwaterdotter]

According to tennis.com:  "The International Tennis Federation tests for substances on the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited substance list, including steroids and EPO, which is an endurance-boosting agent."