Many have asked for my take on Serena Williams and her outburst during the Women’s Semifinal Match of the US Open. I’ve yet to comment on my radio program on Sirius/XM, nor did it prompt me to immediately begin blogging. What can you say? Serena’s behavior and the language she allegedly used to abuse a lines judge to dispute a foot fault was enough to make even John McEnroe blush.
Yes, pressure on a big stage, the stress of competition, momentarily lapse of composure have all been used to attempt to explain Serena’s behavior. Yet in my mind there is no explanation. It’s not as though she has never won a big match, a championship, or a major. Serena is truly a great tennis player and athlete. She’s been through it all.
The bottom line is that she couldn’t handle losing. Serena was considered the overwhelming favorite in this match. Her opponent, Kim Clijsters, who was making a comeback after having a child, had her on the ropes and was simply outplaying Serena.
What blows my mind is that someone of Serena’s talent, success, and the mind control she has displayed in the past resulted in such a meltdown. You can only imagine that something else may be playing into this or she simply was having a bad day. Bottom line, it was not good. But jumping on the bandwagon to slam her does no one any good either. So my take is — let it go and hope that Serena straightens this out on her own. The longer we talk about it, show it on television, and talk about it on talk radio, the more kids will have the opportunity to see her bad behavior – which it not good.
What’s up with up athletes losing their cool this past weekend? What ever happened to athletes being gracious? Michael Jordan’s Hall of Fame Induction speech was not that of a champion or a hall-of-fame great. If you’ve not seen it watch it on YouTube, then let me know your reaction. Why would you want one of your last big appearances in basketball to be one that is still calling people out? There is no doubt that Jordan is the all-time best, but believe it or not Michael, there are kids today who have no idea who you are, now they know you as an angry man and an old washed up basketball player.
