by Savannah
I didn't see Serena's match last night so I was unaware of Mary Carillo's comments regarding Serena Williams. Click on the link to find the text of the letter Craig sent to ESPN.
Pam Shriver did double duty last night when it came to her female co commentators.
Mary Jo Fernandez went on an anti Venus Williams rant accusing her of not progressing in her approach to the game, of not utilizing strategy, and of having a lousy serve. Pam ripped her a new one. Fans on Twitter asked how Fernandez, who won no major titles during her career let alone five Wimbledon's could give advice to anyone.
It amazes me that after all the Williams Sisters have done for tennis the establishment resents them so much. Name any American woman who can hold a candle to their accomplishments. Name any American who can draw fans the way Venus and Serena do. They showed a brief clip of Serena practicing before her match and the fans were two to three deep. When the couple that won the Tennis Channel sweepstakes for a trip to the Australian Open was interviewed they said they were rooting for Serena. The couple was not African-American.
I guess we have to wait for Melanie Oudin to start winning majors.
It's my opinion that Mary, and especially Mary Jo Fernandez and PMac's on air statements and attitudes reflect those of the US tennis establishment. I'm not aware of any untoward comments made by Patrick McEnroe last night but his idol was playing so maybe he chilled out.
It should also be mentioned that Marcos Baghdatis broke THREE racquets during his match and not a peep was heard from the ESPN team. If you remember during the US Open Serena smashed one racquet and was given a warning. Andy Roddick cursed out the chair after his second round match and not a thing was said nor was he fined. Should Serena comment on the double standard? Why not when it's there for all to see.
It's going to be interesting to see how ESPN responds.
ETA: I sent an email to ESPN and got an answer from a real live person who named Mary Carillo in his response and sent it to the right department in ESPN as well as giving me the right email address to use going forward. If you want to register your opinion send your email to the following address:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?page=contact/espntv
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1 comment:
I was watching Kleybs playing Henin and OMG, talk about anti-Russian. They were saying she was not fit (which she isn't) but Pam or Carrilo were saying Kleybs lost eight pounds in sweat while playing. Pat McEnroe said she was wilting in the heat and had a big body to move around the court. MJF said Kleybs sweats alot. It was just awful. Oh well, a Russian got Saint Kim. Petrova just beat her ass good.
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