Juan Martin Del Potro and Kim Clijsters’ remarkable runs to the finals and championship victories in the U.S. Open last week should have been the talk of the sports world and a great public relations coup for the United States Tennis Association.
Del Potro’s stunning five-set victory over Roger Federer launched a new star to the tennis scene and perhaps introduced us to the heir apparent to the king of men’s tennis.
Clijster, with her adorable 18-month old daughter in tow, returned from retirement to become the first unseeded champion and first wild-card champion in Open history.
But instead of those two burgeoning stars getting the all important pub, the media story of the tournament remains Serena Williams and her profanity-laced and physically-threatening tirade aimed at a line judge for a critical call that went against her.
Now, there’s really not much debate whether Williams’ actions were completely inappropriate, disrespectful and harmful to her sport. It was a major public meltdown for a big-name athlete and shockingly brutal for a sport like tennis.
Although her actions were not the fault of the USTA, its decision to only fine Williams $10,500 and not suspend her at all (even allowing her to finish competing in the doubles portion of the tournament the next day!) served more as a slap on the wrist and a “look the other way” judgment – allowing one of the sports biggest draws and marketing names to get away unscathed after bullying and threatening an official (an egregious crime in any other sport).
Williams didn’t even apologize (really) for the incident, issuing a statement the next day explaining her actions but never expressing remorse. Williams did take another stab at an apology the following day, clearly at the urging of her managers or PR reps, but once again appeared insincere and callous about the entire episode.
Tantrums and embarrassing altercations by athletes during competition are generally unpreventable by a league or governing sports body. Many games and events are aired live on television with tens of thousands of spectators in attendance. So if an athlete loses his or her cool in the heat of the moment the whole world is going to see it with only the officials on hand to try to minimize it.
But where a sports league can invoke control and authority is after the incident.
When an athlete hurts the image of a sport by inappropriate actions, like Williams clearly did, the commissioner or president needs to determine the severity of the athlete’s poor behavior and issue a justified fine or suspension (sometimes both).
It’s extremely important for that punishment to be administered swiftly and stringently in order to maintain order and a high level of respectability for the sport. An athlete should never act “above” his or her sport and not be reprimanded severely for it – as in the case of Williams.
The USTA failed to protect the integrity of its sport by allowing Williams to, essentially, get away with her terrible behavior. With dozens of other exciting and talented players for tennis to promote to the media, the USTA allowed the negative actions of one big name player to overshadow the positive actions of others.
Williams is still a great champion and can go on to have a wonderful career. But by allowing her to act in the manor she did the USTA is hurting both her and its sport’s image.
A heavy fine and suspension sends a strong message to the fans, sponsors and media that professional tennis is about the greatest players in the world competing at the highest level. Instead, the USTA’s message was that its primary concern is keeping its bigger name players happy and active in tournaments so they can attract higher TV audiences and maximize revenue.
As a result, that PR message will be detrimental and counterproductive in the long run.
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