A recent article was written by Bruce Jenkins on a situation
involving Venus and Serena Williams a few years ago. The Williams sisters were
subject to great deals of racism and scrutiny while playing in a tennis match at
Indian Wells approximately twelve years back. Venus withdrew from the match
just minutes before it was supposed to begin. The sisters were going up against
one another, and Venus was suffering from an injury. She was not feeling up to
par so it actually makes sense that she would withdraw from the match. To not
be 100% going into a huge athletic performance is a great and completely
understandable reason to not actually take part in the event. You want to be
able to give it your all and if you can’t what is the point in even participating.
When this whole event occurred the crowd began to shout inappropriate jargon
and slander at the sister; furthermore, much of the words being screamed from
the stands were racist as can be. That is a great reason for the Williams
sisters to not want to go back to Indian Wells. If you aren’t being respected
in a certain environment, why go back to that environment or continue to keep
yourself in that environment. The sisters did not do anything disrespectful to
the fans so why should they have to endure disrespect from the fans?! I personally do not blame them for not
wanting to go back. Yes, it will hurt
Serena on ranking points but they are standing for something in there life that
they know was wrong. I cannot blame them
for that at all. I would do the same
thing.
Written by: Janelle Campbell
By: Taylor Cook
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that the Williams sisters should never want to return to Indian Wells after the way they were treated. You have to look at it from their point of view because if people were shouting racist and hurtful things at me there is no way I would ever return, especially if I was a professional athlete. For the fans to think it was ok to yell and scream inappropriate things at the sisters just because one of them was not feeling 100 percent and wanted to back out is completely wrong. I for one know that I would never partake in offensive activities like this and if I heard other people doing this I most certainly would step in and try and stop it. I hope that the Williams sister keep there word and never return to Indian Wells unless they receive a formal apology from the venue to show that they are past being rude and offensive towards professional athletes.
Hey, Janelle, I think the sister’s should not ever return to Indian Wells unless they get a formal apology and sure that the issue will no repeat. There is nothing wrong with Venus pulling out from the match but what could have been done to not cause this hectic problem is that she could have told the officials earlier so that they have time to inform the fans. I am totally on the Williams’ side but I know how disappointed the fans felt at that moment. On top of that, people are going to watch Venus Williams playing against Serena Williams, this is not some ordinary match fans can see any day. This is like LeBron against Kobe, Tiger against Phil in a playoff and Ronaldo playing against Messi. Although disappointed, nobody had the right to be disrespectful to the Williams. Injuries happen and things like that do happen sometimes. Although this will hurt Serena’s position in world ranking, she should not go back until the problem is solved. The WTA should do something about this because it is unfair to the Williams sisters as they are still very much in contention. There is no point going back and I believe that Serena doesn’t need this tournament to help her stay on top.
ReplyDelete-Marcus Kok
When I heard about the Indian Wels incident in class, I first thought that the Williams sisters should return to Indian Hills. I felt that they were damaging their world rankings points and integrity as professional athletes. However, after much thought and learning a lot more about the whole incident, my mindset on the whole situation changed. I now feel that their re-participation in the event would actually hurt their integrity unless Indian Wells came out with a sincere apology. By making the statement that they will not tolerate that sort of behavior was a very smart and wise decision. If I was put in their shoes, I would have done the same thing because no one deserves to be treated the way they were especially if the main issue was due to race. Lastly, in my opinion I feel that this whole fiasco is due to the medical staff’s negligence in not informing the tournament officials earlier then they had so they could make arrangements accordingly. In a way, I don’t blame the fans for being that upset because they came to see the Williams sisters play each other and then were informed 5 minutes before the match that Venus was pulling out. However, I would have never gone as far as to bring race into the matter and that is where I draw the line. No one should ever have to go through what the Williams family went through.
ReplyDelete-By Josh Gibson
By: Taylor Brown
ReplyDeleteI really don't think that the Williams sisters should ever return. I liked what you said in this article and it was really well written. To me, going back would make what happened there ok. It was very good of them to take a stand against what happened there and for them to say that they are never going to go back. The fact that Indian Wells never really truly apoligized or vowed to make up for what happened would make me not want to come back either. At the point the Williams sisters don't need the money to go there, so why would they? The things that they went through at Indian Wells were unacceptable and are embarassing to the sport and Indian Wells itself. Something should have been done about it, and the Williams' sisters should continue told hold out and never return there.
After reading the article and talking about the situation in class, my opinion somewhat goes both ways. I feel as though the Williams sisters can possibly go back, and face the people of Indian Wells. It was an event that happened a number of years ago and should be overlooked, or the William sisters should forgive the people of Indian Wells and continue to do what they do best. All individuals are going to have and voice their opinions regardless. Also, if the sisters could play at Indian Wells for a large sum of money, I feel like they can possibly overlook what happened. I feel like they could possibly never play there again, because unlike any other sport, tennis is an individual sport. There is more pressure on the William sisters, making it feel like there is no way out of it.
ReplyDeleteLeBron James went back to Cleveland right after he left. He dealt with hatred,accusations, scrutiny and much more. Ignorant words are STILL being said and he still continues to brush it off and play the Cleveland Cavaliers. Although he can get support from his teammates, he still personally has to deal with everything being thrown at him. I feel like the William sisters should possibly take some tips and try to become the better person. I wouldnt necessarily say I took only one side. Im looking at it from both ways. So I am neutral when it comes to this topic.
By: Angel Akinkuoye
By: Micah Stein
ReplyDeleteIf I was a victim of discrimination anywhere near the magnitude of what the Williams sisters and their father had to go through at Indian Wells, I would never go back. The fact that it happened was bad enough, but the lack of action by all parties honestly baffles me and makes the whole situation even worse than it already was. I think a public apology, and maybe even investigation, would have done wonders in this case. I do, however, think that if an apology came now, it wouldn't be the same at all as if one had come directly after the incident. An apology now, especially after making it a mandatory stop on the tennis tour, would seem insincere and would look like just another way to try to sneak the sisters back in. If I was them, I'd say strong in boycotting the tournament - they certainly don't need the money, and the statement they're making by boycotting and saying they won't stand to be treated like that means a lot more than a few ranking points Not to mention.. if Indian Wells spectators acted as they did in 2001 after feeling like they got "jipped" by not seeing the Williams sisters one time, how do you think they'd act after being jipped for over a decade?
I agree with Venus' and Serena's decision as well. Why would they go back after what happened at Indian Wells? Also, why did the tournament all of a sudden become a mandatory event for tennis players to attend in order to gain more ranking points? Had Venus and Serena given in and gone back to Indian Wells, the issue would never have resurfaced. Our generation would not even know about what happened all those years ago had the Williams sisters not kept their word about boycotting the event. What they are doing goes beyond playing a sport and being ranked. It is about fairness and racism. To this day, the Williams sisters have not even received an apology for what happened. Their father's comments have also been called into question by the tournament's director. Why would their father lie about such serious accusations? Even in her autobiography, which came out years after the incident occurred, Serena recounts the story and her accusations did not change. Given everything that happened, I think Venus and Serena are handling this in the best possible way.
ReplyDelete-David Shelmon
I would have to say that I disagree with the boycott of the William sisters. The reason why, I would say this is because by boycotting this event at Indian Wells, they have changed nothing through the years. In the end, yes could the tournament make more money if the sisters played, probably. However, at the end of the day with this tournament being a mandatory event within the tour. Indian Wells will continue to make mass amounts of money and give opportunities to other players around the world. Just imagine if players like Jackie Robinson boycotted major league baseball games, because he had felt comfortable with the adversity in the Negro leagues at the time, instead of the adversity in major league baseball. This action would have never helped others achieve equality within baseball, if he didn't do what he did. There have been numerous black athletes before the sisters time, who have had to face adversity some point in there life because of the way our society is radicalized and if they had just avoided adversity like the sisters are doing. Do you think that the Williams sisters would still have the same opportunities today? “Absolutely not”. Therefore, by them not wanting to play in this event, the sisters aren’t changing anything.
ReplyDeleteby Anthony Pape