The racism that Venus, Serena and Richard Williams faced at Indian Wells in 2001 was an absolute atrocity. Not only was blatant racism on display that day, but I believe that some of fans could have been excessively harsh also because they are women. Being black women, two historically discriminated against classes, must have disturbed many of the white elitist who were probably in attendance that day.
Although the sisters have had tremendous success, that day showed that they had not reached a point where race is no longer an issue for them. Tiger Woods has achieved this status in another elitist sport with golf. Can you imagine Tiger having to withdraw from this week's Accenture Math Play Championship and then receiving a plethora of "boos" the next time he competes? I surely cannot. Even before he won the U.S. Open on one leg last year, I highly doubt fans would have received him the same way the Williams sisters were received at Indian Wells. I think this can be attributed to the fact Tiger sits alone at the top of his game. Others are close and have attempted to dethrone him, but no one can ever sustain his level of success. With Venus and Serena on the other hand, they are at the top of their profession, but they share that spot with quite a few other players. Even between the two of them, they are not as dominating at their sport as Tiger is at his.
Many people in class on Wednesday talked about their disdain for Richard Williams. While I have not followed his antics on a regular basis, it does sound like he has done some pretty ridiculous things throughout his daughters' careers. However, I feel it is unfair to judge a person before examining some of the experiences they have had in life. As a white male, I can only speculate on the racism that Richard has faced during his lifetime. Indian Wells was a very public display of racism, but I am sure that this instance was not the first time he had faced this issue. He probably has had to deal with racism on at least a weekly basis, if not a daily basis. When any person deals with something of that nature, they can become calloused to society. At first, I am sure that Williams would sit back and take much of the racism that came his way. But over time, people will become more outspoken and learn to take a stand for themselves. Going even further, people can stop caring about what people might say about or do to them, so they act in sometimes ridiculous ways. I will give Richard Williams the benefit of the doubt that he has faced things in life that I can only begin to imagine. Like my experiences have shaped how I live life, his experience have most likely helped determine how he lives his life, as well.
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Steven,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you; the racism that Venus, Serena, and Richard Williams faced at Indians Wells in 2001 was uncalled for and absolutely horrible. I also can not imagine Tiger withdrawing from an event due to injury and then receiving a plethora of "boos" at his next competition. The comments you made in regards to the difference between the Williams' sisters and Tiger Woods based on athletic status and gender were rather insightful.
More often than not, it seems that racism is examined and discussed throughout the sporting community while gender discrimination takes a back seat. Title IX was obviously created for a reason; however, in my experience, I have come across more articles addressing the issue of race in sport as opposed to those addressing the existence of gender inequality. At times, I understand that gender might need to fall secondary to racism in terms of severity and significance, for instance at Indian Wells, but does that mean it should be ignored as a result? In the case of the Williams' sister, racism was clearly the more serious of the two occurring that day; however, I think that it is equally important to highlight gender. In essence, the following question needs to be asked: Would a black male athlete have received the same reaction and/or response as Venus and Serena did at Indian Wells?
If a black male athlete did happen to experience racist comments as well, would his experience have been more or less cruel? How much does gender influence the severity and/or cruelty of racism a black individual receives? Or does it have no impact at all?
I also agree with you and your comments about Richard Williams. Like many of our classmates, I not a huge fan of his either; however, I do appreciate his ability to “raise his fist, rather than throw it.” He displayed poise and character in the midst of a hostile environment. Unfortunately, Williams was not only being personally attacked, but he also had to watch his daughters being attacked at well. If my father was placed in similar situation, I can definitely say that he would not have been so calm or quiet. To make matters worse, Williams must have felt helpless; Venus at least was sitting beside him in the stands, but poor Serena was all alone on the court. She was insight, but out of reach. She was young and fully exposed to the crowd’s remarks. Richard Williams had to suppress an urge to fight back and respond as both black man and as a father; and for that, I give my respect.
I appreciate your giving Richard Williams the benefit of the doubt about some of his actions. Some members of the press have speculated that perhaps he wanted to deflect media attention away from Venus and Serena. If that was the case, he may have been a genius. According to Richard, the girls faced considerable racism as youngsters, and that was one reason he had them withdraw from junior tennis competition. To his credit, he also emphasized the importance of education, encouraging his daughters to think beyond their lives in tennis. This is a refreshing contrast to many young junior players who joined the professional tour as teen-agers, and were lucky to finish High School!
ReplyDeleteAs for Venus and Serena's dominance, they actually did dominate the tour in 2002 and 2003. In fact, until the murder of their sister, Yetunde, they met in something like 4 consecutive Grand Slam finals. That is an incredible record. While people had once complained that the sisters rarely played each other, and when they did, they did not always seem to play their best against one another, the complaint became that it was bad for tennis when the finals were dominated by the Williams sisters. So there was definitely a point where they were as dominant perhaps as Tiger. But after their sister was killed, Venus and Serena did not play as much, in part, also because of injuries. Interestingly, the press rarely seemed to understand that their disappearance from tennis during that period was largely due to the painful loss of their sister.
Mallory brings up an important point about how gender interacts with race in the case of the Williams sisters. Something you said earlier reminded me of a term that some have used to describe dual oppressions--i.e., "double-jeopardy." That term is often used to describe the oppression of being a black woman. Good discussion on this topic, Steven and Mallory.