Serena's Outburst

Okay,  so Serena had a melt down when a footfall was called and she reacted in a manner that upset most.  I would have to say when I first saw the video clip I laughed and found it humorous.  I think I reacted this way because this was outside of her character and is one of the most respected and notable female athletes of our time.  She already has established a favorable reputation with the public.  I think a lot of people had a similar reaction to her rage like mine, however, there were a lot who viewed her actions as, "un lady like".  Especially in a prestigious country club sport like tennis, that behavior is unacceptable.  Even as a lacrosse coach if one of my girls acted out like that to a referee she would be suspended from that game and the next.  I think if it were a male that reacted the way she did, it would be a little more accepted but not by much. Instead of being unlady like I think he would become a little unfavorable, yet, his actions would just reflect what our society percieves our male athletes to be; dominant, masculine, and aggressive.  Ya he may get the, jerk, vibe from a lot of his female friends, yet, he may be praised by his males fans.  I believe it is a little harder to come out of a situation like Serena's solely because she is a women and we as a society have different expectations and standards that women must uphold.

As far as her punishment, I do not believe that she should be suspended from her next tournament.  Being at the elite professional level that she is at, I think that suspending her is a little ridiculous. It is not as if she went chasing after the line judge with her racket.  I would think that there might be rules forbidding players to speak to a line judge in a negative manner or any official at that.  Her punishment was a fine, yet I would think that her actions would result in points taken away from her game or her complete ranking as an individual player. I am not excusing her from her actions, but I think all of the negative publicity is enough to think before she speaks again. Again, who knows what the consequences and the reaction of the publicity might be if a male player were to react the same way in that particular situation.  I think across the board in tennis it would have been looked down upon, yet I can not decide if the male would have been viewed as more threatening and would have recieved a harsher punishment or if his actions would have been slightly more acecpted due to the fact he has testosterone running through his blood.