by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Sept. 16, 2009
All Rights Reserved.

          Calling a foot-fault on Serena Williams in her August 12 U.S. Open Grand Slam nighttime semifinal match against Belgium’s Kim Clijsters sent the 27-year-old tennis phenom into a rage.  By the time she was done berating the line-judge, Serena was disqualified from the tournament, facing an uncertain future.  Venting a barrage of expletives then threatening to shove a tennis ball down the line-judge’s throat, the chair umpire had enough sending Serena packing.  Serena was also fined $500 for racket abuse by tournament referee Brian Earley.  Faced with more fines and possible suspensions from Grand Slam tournaments, the Grand Slam Tournament Committee meets to consider more punishments, including a possible ban from next year’s Australian Open.  If they choose, the Committee could reduce or strip Serena of her entire $350,000 semifinalist purse.

            Serena’s tirade was uncharacteristic of female players, but not too dissimilar from the past on-court antics of Hall of Fame male players John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors or Romanian “nasty” Ilie Nastase.  Serena’s behavior was most unwelcomed, especially to her sister Venus whom tennis Grand Dame Billie Jean King designated as her heir apparent.  While not charged yet with “aggravated behavior,” Serena could be charged with “flagrant and particularly injurious to the success of a Grand Slam, or is singularly egregious,” something reserved for far more destructive conduct than simply an on-court outburst.  Serena’s behavior, while ugly and unfortunate, doesn’t rise to the level warranting the committee to take more draconic action.  “Last night everyone could truly see the passion I have for my job,” Serena said in a prepared statement, falling far short of what’s required.

            Serena’s post-match comments don’t come close to the full mea culpa needed to rehabilitate her image.  She knows that no fans watching her tirade believe that her “passion” for the game had anything to do with her meltdown.  Battling for the match against Clijsters, she let her adrenalin get the better of her.  “Now that I have had time to gain my composure, I can see that while I don’t agree with the unfair line-call, in the heat of battle I let my passion and emotion get the better of me and as a result handled the situation poorly,” said Serena, again, falling far short of the threshold needed for successful damage control.  Serena’s statement exacerbates her reputation by justifying her behavior based on circumstances.  No circumstance, regardless of the experience, warrants the kind of on-court outburst witnessed by tennis fans round the globe, damaging Serena’s image.

            Tennis historian Mary Carillo took a much harsher line, finding Serena’s outburst inexcusable and unforgivable..  Carillo couldn’t recall another incident in the history of the women’s game more egregious and unacceptable.  Carillo calls for Serena’s immediate suspension, agreeing that she should lose her prize money.  Carillo believes all professional players serve as ambassadors of the game, either hurting of helping professional tennis.  Outbursts in-the-heat-of-battle can’t be compared with destructive conduct off-the-court, including drug and alcohol offenses or domestic abuse.  Criminal conduct, including but limited to sports betting, fixing games, alcohol or drug abuse, domestic abuse or other forms of criminal behavior.  Serena’s breakdown happened on the court and has no impact on the sport other than a poor reflection on her sportsmanship or character.

            Perfectionist-warrior-athletes don’t like to lose.  When they’re getting beaten in the heat of battle, it can trigger unsportsmanship conduct—like that seen at the end of the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals when Cleveland Cavalier superstar LeBron James had a quiet tantrum, refused to shake hands with the Orlando Magic or speak to the media after elimination May 31, 2009.  Recent brawls on Major League Baseball fields, National Hockey League ice rinks or other sporting venues indicate that adrenalized athletes are prone toward erratic and occasionally violent behavior.  Serena cursed, pointed her racket and made some hostile remarks but didn’t make any other threatening gestures.  While her initial damage control was inadequate, her punishment must fit the crime.  Stripping her of her purse or banning her from future Grand Slam events would be unreasonable and overkill.

            Serena came to her senses 48-hours after the incident.  “I want to amend my press statement and want to make it as clear as possible—I want to sincerely apologize FIRST to the line’s woman, Kim Clijsters, the USTA and mostly tennis fans everywhere for my inappropriate outburst . . . “ read Serena’s new mea culpa, hoping to stem the damage to her commercial endorsements.  As former tennis great Andre Agassi used to say:  “Image is everything.”  Apart from the loss of commercial endorsements, it’s more difficult to repair a damaged image after her Sept. 12 on-court meltdown.  Winning the U.S. Open women’s doubles title Sept. 3 doesn’t erase the bad taste in the public’s mouth.  Serena must work hard to avoid a repetition and do more off-the-court to undo the damage.  Tennis authorities should think carefully before meting out punishment that exceed those given to Serena’s male counterparts.

 John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.