Indian Wells

Based upon the experiences of the Williams sisters at Indian Wells in 2001, do you believe they should return to Indian Wells? Be able to explain why or why not.

 I do not think that the Williams sisters should return to Indian Wells. The racist comment made by the crowd and constant booing of the Williams’ family even after Serena had a comeback victory is absurd. Also, I cannot believe that tour officials did nothing to diffuse the situation. The announcers even acknowledge the fact that tournament officials knew that something might happen. After the tournament, Charlie Pasarell, tournament director, said “if Richard says someone yelled something, maybe they did, but that’s not Indian Wells people.” I feel that having the tournament director basically disregard the problem is extremely disrespectful. If I were the Williams sisters I would feel that I was not welcomed to enter that tournament because I was black. I like that they do not go back because of how good they are, not having the Williams sisters there has to hurt the tournament ticket sales in some way.

However, choosing to boycott the tournament allows those racist fans to feel like they are winning. If Jackie Robinson would have boycotted every stadium that yelled racist comments at him then he would have gotten nowhere in his efforts to break the color barrier. I think it would be cool if Serena went back to Indian Wells and won the tournament again just to show everyone that racism will not stop her from being the best. With that being said, I still do not blame the sisters for not returning after what happened. 

Taylor Redd