Middle-class heroes can lift our game
A provocative speech has made social background a burning issue. Jon Henderson Reports
Sunday, December 10, 2006
The Observer
Far from mocking Tim Henman's middle-class pedigree, Britain should exploit the social group that is 'the greatest single asset we have in this sporting nation'.
Ian Wight, the long-time director of the Stella Artois championships, Britain's most successful tournament after Wimbledon, last week unexpectedly made the role of the gently nurtured a burning tennis issue. He unashamedly trumpeted the virtues of the middle classes in a trenchant and provocative speech whose subtext seemed to be to discomfort Roger Draper, the man installed earlier this year to revive the British game.
'We excel at middle-class sports in the UK and tennis is a middle-class sport. Let's exploit it,' said Wight. Draper's response was equally blunt. 'The problem is tennis is largely dominated by the middle classes,' he told Observer Sport, 'and we need to get more people involved from disadvantaged backgrounds.'
The least contentious of Wight's views was that tennis was more available to the middle classes because it was expensive. 'Balls, rackets, courts, clothing, shoes all cost money,' he said. 'Transport is another expense both in real cost and in time, the most precious commodity next to money a parent can offer.'
What made Wight's comments particularly provocative, quite apart from the basic theme, was including in the same passage the observation that tennis 'is also a complex game to learn'. This introduced the implication that the better-off tend to be better equipped mentally. 'An intelligent player will, over time, win out,' said Wight. 'So let's think about finding kids who are bright enough to excel at the technical and tactical aspects of the game. Let's put brains before brawn. The former is a god-given gift, the latter can be developed.
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A few weeks ago the tournament director of Stella Artois caused a stir when he said that demands for appearance fees had gotten out of hand. I thought the statement odd at the time since the likes of Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras had regularly demanded and been paid for showing up at events they would then tank. I thought that something more than altruism was behind the words but couldn’t prove it. Now that Wight’s statement has come to light (despite attempts to keep it away from the tennis public) I feel partially vindicated in my suspicions.
The first post about this did not appear on one of the big message boards (ESPN, MSNBC) but on one dedicated to Svetlana Kuznetsova.
It was posted by a fan alarmed by the assumptions underpinning the gentlemen’s premise.
I find it interesting that none of the tennis columnists or bloggers have mentioned this since the statements were made at an event attended by tennis editors and writers.
The question is why wouldn’t this elitist drivel be publicized and made part of the what’s-wrong-with-tennis discussion? Shouldn’t this attitude be debated alongside who is prettier, plays harder, or is not given their due? Or has it not been reported because this mindset permeates the upper echelons of tennis on this side of the pond as well?
It must be kept in mind that the British are clever with their words. You will hear the very rich say they go to public school. Public schools in England comprise some of the most exclusive schools in the world and bear no resemblance to what we mean by public schools in the United States.
The same clever play on words applies to the term “middle-class.” Wight isn’t talking about postal workers, teachers or government drones. He's talking about the class just below the aristocracy, a group we would simply call “rich” or “well off” here. In this context, Wight’s class bias becomes obvious.
During Fernando Gonzalez’ run at the Australian Open, one of the women commentators mentioned that he comes from a very wealthy family and “doesn’t have to do this,” by which she meant he doesn’t have to play tennis. I guess she thought that viewers in the States think everyone with a Spanish surname just snuck across the border into Texas last week. Tracy Austin has said that Eastern European players play so hard because they’ve escaped from the “hovels” they lived in and don't want to go back. Reminds me of comments about those forced to endure at the Houston Astrodome after Katrina.
I’m sure that there will be more headlines declaring “order restored” after all these pesky foreigners and lower-class people go back to their places and leave tennis to the people meant to play it, the middle classes of England and the rich of Australia and the Untied States.
This topic needs to be debated openly by those who report on tennis with cool heads and reason as opposed to fanaticism and bias. This bias for the “betters” of the world lies at the root of the problems facing not only British tennis but also American tennis. The fact that the tennis press has not reported this story can only mean that many pundits agree with what the speaker implies. Otherwise I think these comments would have received closer scrutiny from the always-looking-for-a-story press.
This is a subject I will return to especially as the what-is-wrong-with-tennis debate inevitably continues on this side of the pond.
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