Black folks we can't win for losing can we? You all know the old joke about hiding stuff from black folks by putting it in a book. Well, it seems Serena was shattering that stereotype for all the world to see at the U.S. Open, when the Chair Umpire called her out for reading. Yes, you heard right, reading. It seems that during her match with Verna Zvnareva, Chair Umpire Damian Steiner, called out girlfriend for reading. Now frankly, Steiner ought to be public enemy number one in my book. Well, actually, public enemy number two where tennis is concerned. (More on that in a minute)Because the last thing anybody should be doing is discourage a young black person from reading. I don't care if she is a tennis superstar.
Seems there is a rule in tennis that you cannot be coached or get instructions while you are playing. So if a ball boy, for instance, were to pass Serena a note from her Dad, it would be a problem. But that wasn't the case here. Girlfriend was being a good role model and showing the world that black folks can read. And not just not any black person, an athlete no less. To me, that's a beautiful thing. I can hear the folks in the stands now: "Do you see that honey, she can actually read? Wow! Those Williams girls are talented and smart. "
But thankfully, cooler heads prevailed at the Open, and Serena was allowed to continue reading. "He told me I couldn't use my notes. I was like, well, it's not like I'm Harry Potter and my Dad can magically give me notes to read. What if I were to take a paper on the court and write something, what's the difference?" No difference Serena. In fact, you would show the world that black folks can read and write.
Now for public enemy number one in my book. As you might or might not know, the folks at the U.S. Open were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first African American-who happened to be Althea Gibson- to win a tennis tournament. They planned to have a lavish celebration at center court, and an opening night tribute to Gibson. Now that's a good thing, so far no problems. In keeping with this, they sent out special invitations to the kids at the Althea Gibson Tennis Center here in Philadelphia. The center is in a poor section of Philadelphia, and the kids that go there are from mostly underprivileged backgrounds. I know a thing or two about this center, and they do a great job in the community. They have produced public league tennis players who will no doubt go on to receive college scholarships, and have kept countless kids off the streets. So this was a beautiful gesture by the USTA, and it was to be a great night in the lives of these kids, many of whom had never even left Philly. They were going to share the center court with stars such as Aretha Franklin, and Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
But alas, it wasn't to be. Sadly, the invitations to these poor kids were revoked, and the bush league USTA blamed it on poor planning. "We had an overwhelming response from celebrities who wanted to participate in the broadcast" That's what the U.S. Tennis Association's Chris Widmaier said. Well Mr. Widmaier, if you think this would have meant more to a bunch of jaded "celebrities" than to these little kids, you and your organization are totally clueless.
That's not what Althea would have wanted.
