Kurt Streeter: Serena Williams should be suspended for the rest of the year

The men’s final at the rainswept U.S. Open of 2009 was a long one, but compared to the epics we’ve seen recently at Wimbledon, a dud. The women’s final? Did anyone watch? Did anyone outside Belgium truly care?

Let’s face it, the 2009 Open will always be remembered for Serena Williams’ sudden, salty burst of lunacy. Now the question, even after her Monday apology, is how  tennis will respond.

Look, I still have great admiration for Serena Williams. I still think the journey she’s shared with her sister is one of the greatest stories in the history of sports. From where they came from, if the sisters had just been good enough to play college tennis it would have been unbelievable. Almost unthinkable. The fact that they are both among tennis' all-time greats -- mind-boggling.

A fine history is one thing. In the here and now, however, for her actions at this tournament, threatening a lineswoman who made a good call at a bad time, the $10,500 fine she’s been assessed is an utter joke.

Come on … $10,500? To a woman whose career prize money is more than $26 million? To her that’s nothing more than a thin dime.

Since a garden variety fine doesn’t mean much – doesn’t tell her and all the other players this kind of behavior will never be acceptable – it’s obvious a suspension must be served. What’s appropriate for one of the ugliest outbursts we’ve ever witnessed in a professional tennis match because it included a physical threat to an official? Serena should sit for the rest of the tennis season. That’s 3½ months off. Let her cool her jets as the big guns of women’s tennis swing through Asia, Moscow and the $4.5 million season-ending championship in Doha, Qatar.

Let her start fresh next season, defending her title in Australia, hopefully with a clear head and a better handle on her emotions.

She shouldn’t have been allowed to play in Monday’s doubles final, a match she and her sister won. When it was over, TV commentator/U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe asked about the second written apology she’d issued since the tirade. He gave her an opening to address the crowd and apologize in person. Serena wouldn’t answer. She let her sister step in and talk about moving on. McEnroe, sadly enough, was promptly booed. 

Maybe the Flushing Meadows crowd is fine with her actions. But that doesn’t mean she was right. Doesn’t mean the churlish, childish way she comported herself in the press conference immediately following her default was acceptable. Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t expect more guts and class from the best female athlete on the planet.

It was only in the news conference after the doubles match – the third time she’d had an opportunity to apologize more directly than in a statement or a Twitter post – that Serena verbally apologized. She pretty much said the right things – though it would have been nice to hear her say she was simply wrong and foolish, without all the gloss about her pride and faith and emotion. An apology was an extremely important and necessary move, but only half of the equation. The public seems to know this isn’t over yet.

-- Kurt Streeter

Photo: Serena Williams. Credit: William Pearlman / U.S. Presswire.

Comments

[Joe Cool]

Kurt Streeter...you are nothing but a writer and will never be anything of substance! What gives you the right to condemn Serena for her actions? You, along with Mary Carello and Bud Collins should be suspended for the rest of the year! Evidently, you have illusions of grandeur and you simply want to blow your horn. Get a life big guy and smell the roses.

[Dick Diamond]

The Williams sisters represent MONEY to professional tennis.
The idea in sports today, college and professional is,"Don't do anything to stop the cash cow." It's all about greed, not class. Tennis has gone the way of Al Davis of the Oakland Raiders.
A shame think that Serena Williams soiled the good name of Arthur Ashe.

[Sam]

Amen. Well said, Mr. Streeter.

[Aerial]

Actually watch the tape again. That was NOT a fault and I would be pissed too! You should be suspended from writing for the year!

[J-Dizzle]

For the rest of the year is deeply excessive. I'm sorry but when all she was doing was pissing and moaning because of what she thought was a bad call, irregardless of what was said or how long doesn't warrant an entire year off. Players badmouth officials in the NBA, umpires in the MLB, etc and they usually get smacked with a fine and depending on the severity, a suspension for a couple or few games. That's that. But to say someone needs to be suspended for such a long duration and lose out on that much money is outlandish. Maybe this cat needs to be suspended from having an opinion. Is Tennis really that much of a "sensitive" sport? Should we start worrying if guys like Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer break a nail? I'm sorry but this whole Serena thing is overblown and everyone in tennis who is pissing and moaning about this needs to grow a pair, grow up, realize that people have emotions and are going to blow their top at least once and let that be that. It's not like she charged the lineswoman and decked her. Let's not forget that she was assessed a point penalty that cost her the match and of course a lost match means more lost money. I'm sure other penalties will be assessed but lets not wuss out and cry foul and demand this much of a punishment. The internet is already publicly humiliating her.

[uncle.mike]

What a blatent sexist tirade!

Male athletes have to actually kill some one with malice before they lose their welcome in pro sports.

Is Kurt so severely offended because Serena raised her voice in protest, or was it the "F-word" that really offended him?

Her reaction was at the critical point of the game. She wasn't in a bar, or carrying a gun, or manslaughtering anyone with a car while drunk.

When we as a society can't bring ourselves to punish the more serious actions of male athletes, why pick on a popular woman athlete and treat her as if she had taken a pot shot at the line judge with a gun?

Perhaps this is just another sexist lapse by a righteous male do gooder.

When will male athletes be more than chastized with a pat on the hand for their personal lapses? Charlie Rocket, on Saturday Night live, was the last male who suffered for using the "F-word" on TV and that was many years ago.

Uncle.mike

[Lois]

Joel Cool...I agree with you totally!!

[andy kwan]

I'm getting tired of "journalists" advising what should or should not happen to athletes.

Kurt (whoever that is) telling us what is or is not right and how much money should one be fined is funny, but no1 is laughing. This is a horrible article. Some typewriter doofus (who has probably never played sports in her...I mean his life) telling the readers how and to what extent Serena needs to be punished and that she needs to "cool" her jets. See, athletes do get heated; and sometimes say stupid things, but they cool quickly. It comes with the turf. So-called journalists like Kurt and Patty McEnroe just flat out say stupid things.

"Maybe the Flushing Meadows crowd is fine with her actions. But that doesn’t mean she was right. "

Are you serious? This sounds like a 5th grade report. 1. Did you poll the crowd? Was the crowd supposed to throw things at her? They applauded a well-deserved athlete, but were too taken back. 2. Nobody said she was right, including her.

McEnroe should be booed. And you should try playing a sport. Post-match interviews are supposed to be about...the match!

This headline should read:

Cutbacks Force LA Times to hire 5th Graders to Cover Tennis.

[CommonSence]

What a stupid point of view. She said that she "WISH that"..." this ball down your..." That isn't a threat no matter how shocking a statement, for her. She was fined. She displayed regret. End of story. Don't be a hater.

[Michael]

First of all, your condemnation of the fine represents a problem with the idea of restitution itself rather than a problem with Serena's punishment. Having to pay fines will always be an issue because it is impossible to have a fine that is proportionate to the earnings of the entire population. Of course $10,500 might not seem appropiate for someone who is a millionaire, but what if a young qualifier in the first round had done the same. His or her career earnings could very well be under $50,000. Would you still say that $10,500 wasn't enough? Should Serena be given a higher fine just because she makes more money? No, the offense would still be the same regardless.

Now, you are misinformed when suggesting that Serena should have to sit out the rest of the year. Grand slams are not governed by the same body as regular WTA tour events. If anything, she would sit out of the next grand slam event.

Patrick MacEnroe was disrespectful for asking about an event that happened in the singles tournament, during the ceremony of the doubles final. Doubles tennis is constantly taking a back seat to singles tennis, and the last thing doubles needs is to have an event that happened during the singles event to overshadow (even more) the doubles event.

I am actually okay with the fact that Serena did not immediately apologize. She should have been escorted out of the event and not made to deal with the media immediately after the event happened. Once given a time to reflect on her actions and realize she was in the wrong, then she could give a proper, genuine apology. I suppose though, for some people, Serena will never be able to do enough. Right Kurt Streeter?

[tazzzman]

She was only fine that much for she is an American.

[Barb]

I agree with your article 100%. There is a difference between being mad about a call, good or bad, or just badly timed for the athlete, and a threat in the way that Serena threatened the line judge. Put yourself in both positions. Serena was a pompous bully. She is such a fine athlete but needs some work on her post tournament loss interviews also. She always says that she played poorly or not up to what she should. How about your opponent Serena? Did she not cause you to play poorly once in a while? Get over yourself Serena. Be all that you can truly be.

[gerrrg]

Don't be ridiculous. Her outburst was NOTHING compared to John Mcenroe's repeated outbursts and extreme yelling at the judges.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxAPKtOe0fQ

Suddenly you can't express your displeasure in sports, without being banned from the sport? It's not like she touched the line judge, threw something at any official, or hit anyone.

Get real, Streeter.

[james davies]

Well done Streeter and McInnroe. Williams should return all winnings for the US Open and be booted out of the game. James.

[kristi]

I don't believe it was a good call, where is the picture that shows 100% her foot on the line, I don't remember seeing it. I could care less at this point about her outburst, she lost the match, as far as I am concerned that is more than enough punishment. She would have more than likely made it to the 3rd set, and who knows if she might have improved as time went on had a 3rd set been played, she has in the past. A foot fault called at that critical of a time in the match, come on, I would love for that little line judge to be placed in the concession stand for good and permanently off the court, not Serena further punished for an outburst.

[Jason]

I totally agree! Look at the NFL they are suspending people for less.

[M C Mercedes]

Kurt Streeter expressed an opinion on something done by a player. Rightly or wrongly, he is entitled to his opinion. But Joe Cool's comments are completely out-of-line. Instead of sticking with the subject being discussed, Cool turned it into a verbal attack. If Cool does not agree with Streeter, Cool can express his opinion and provide the reasons without being disagreeable. Only people who cannot advance a rational argument would resort to such verbal attack. This is not cool.

[Pistol Pete]

Hey, "Joe Cool" "andy kwan" and you other apologist morons,
get yourself a life and smell the skunk weeds...slimbag language is not acceptable from SW or anyone else who makes their fame and fortune from the public...as Dubya once said about another negro woman, "...you can take the girl out of the 'hood, but you can't take the 'hood out of the girl." SW is just another racially scarred, uneducated negro in a country full of morons...

[Herbie Flam]

KURT STREETER, YOU ARE A BRILLIANT WRITER!
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK...

[John Hintzen]

Why would you suggest that Serena be suspended and not make the same suggestion for Federer who cursed the chair umpire. Why do black athletes have to always pay the harshest penalty when their white counterparts can get away with doing the same thing?

[Oscar]

I agree 100% with Kurt Streeter on this subject.
My daughter was watching the game with me, and she is a fan of Serena, but even my daughter felt really embarased by Serena's behavior.

Not a good example for young players and not a role model.

I hope she gets suspended because her behavior was very very innaproppiate. A suspension will send a clear message to the everybody who cares and lives from Tennis.

[Marion]

Thank You Kurt! Very elegantly stated.

For too long, the public has tried to get behind Serena -- but she isn't listening, and prefers to act like a diva. It's too bad -- since she does get more patience than others, and we love Venus.

Also, thanks for taking the tough position -- because for a while poor (also thoughtful) Mary Carillo was hanging out there alone. And, 'cmon, too much talking about this to believe she is the only one. So thank you for your backbone.

[Kemula Franklin]

Suspended for the year??? Seriously?! I know that what Serena did was not becoming, but that was one incident. How about Mr. Johnny Mac who over and over again, insulted judges.

She has apologized and does want to move on. If you will reach back in your memory, this is not the first time that she has lost a game because of bad calls and that is why there is now the challenge system in tennis, for that very reason. I have watched Serena for a long time playing tennis and I can't remember when she's gotten a foot fault, let alone two.

Again, suspended for the entired year??? Seriously?! Come on, you don't really mean that. This sounds a little personal.

[mike jung]

players can challege any line call, why cant they challenge a foot fault call, that would of have solved this problem imediately.

[Mary]

It was arrogant, ignorant rude & classless but from what I can see of her that is pretty much normal. It like Kayne West just tennis and not music..