Serena Williams May Be Boycotted by Umpires
Tennis umpires reportedly might boycott Serena Williams’ matches after media backlash of the U.S. Open women’s final last weekend.
After receiving a game penalty from umpire official, Carlos Ramos, 23 time Grand Slam singles winner, Serena Williams claimed she was a victim of sexism. She believes she was treated differently because of her gender. Ramos received lots of social media criticism leading to many other umpire officials to join in on the debate.
Many umpires believe that Ramos was thrown under the bus because he had to make a tough call and as a whole, they do not feel supported by the USTA. Towards the end of the heated tennis match, Williams was first given a warning for coaching, then later given a point penalty for smashing her tennis racket, and finally after calling Ramos a “thief,” was given her last offense for verbal abuse.
The International Tennis Federation issued a statement that Carlos Ramos was one of their “most experienced and respected” officials in tennis.
The ITF has released the following statement relating to umpiring decisions during the 2018 #USOpen Women’s Finalhttps://t.co/unVikjmsUP pic.twitter.com/buWRnWHUFz
— ITF (@ITF_Tennis) September 10, 2018
Many fans came to the defense of Serena, stating that she is a victim of racism and sexism compared to how other male tennis stars are allowed to react during matches without penalty, as shown below.
Funny how umpires are threatening to boycott @serenawilliams matches. She’s done more for tennis than any other player in history. They didn’t boycott #Mcenroe or #Agassi who had the worst tempers in tennis. If this ain’t sexism/racism, tell me what it is!! I’ll wait… #TeamDl
— DL Hughley (@RealDLHughley) September 12, 2018
Umpires so fragile…There are actual plans to boycott Serena Williams’ tennis matches https://t.co/VGfXeaPbfg pic.twitter.com/EoxqnBaYfC
— Blavity News (@Blavity) September 12, 2018
So tennis umpires are talking about boycotting Serena Williams matches until she apologizes.
Here’s what the NBA would do if the refs said they were gonna boycott until Lebron James apologized… pic.twitter.com/96l4mesvIS
— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) September 12, 2018
*Tennis umpires reportedly considering boycott of black woman who is as outspoken as white males in the same sport
Fixed that for you.#SerenaWilliams https://t.co/BvWEw1AWvL
— Charlotte Clymer🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) September 12, 2018
…this is that gendered #racism black women suffer in workplaces everywhere, isn’t it? Those nasty microaggressions that portray BW with legitimate grievances as troublemakers – just so that everyone else can avoid accountability…https://t.co/iH6kYZO6KF
— AM🖤DI (@KeloidKrown) September 12, 2018
A boycott though? #SerenaWilliams #JemeleHill https://t.co/QRqXCYijOe pic.twitter.com/DTOIPvRSMq
— YBF CHIC (@TheYBF) September 12, 2018
Williams was later fined $17,000 for her three violations. We will wait and see if the boycott actually happens.
