By N Oji Mzilikazi
7 August 2016
Power respects power. Economic empowerment/economic success lends itself to accessing power.
Failure of a race, ethnicity or community to be empowered economically ensures they remain powerless, weak, marginalised, exploited, and the footstool of others.
Economics is at the heart of anti-Black racism…
By N Oji Mzilikazi
9 July 2016
As I stumbled sleepy-eyed towards the living room to catch Breakfast at Wimbledon, my mind runs on Laj, a poster on the now defunct ESPN Tennis Message Board.
Back in 2002, Laj had the audacity to declare Serena Williams the most complete/best tennis player ever, even better than Steffi Graf.
Boasting, Laj predicted and promised the citizenry of the Message Board that Serena, whom he nicknamed Terror Fabulous, was going to surpass Graf in Grand Slam titles.
The immediate reaction was Laj had been drinking arsenic-laced Kool-Aid.
The thought of a Black girl dethroning the great Steffi Graf was unthinkable, unfathomable — and heresy. Rejection of Laj’s assertions were swift and brutal. Tennis fans that don’t like or care for the sisters, Williams sisters’ haters, and racists had another reason to hate — and a field day on the Board that lasted weeks.
Serena was still young. She hadn’t come into her own as yet in terms of amassing enough Grand Slams to be perceived as a threat. Serena had so many interests outside tennis that she never played a full season. That led to her being disparagingly spoken of as a part-time tennis player. (If I remember correctly, Serena became No. 1 in the world with 12 tournaments under her belt. Points from a player’s last 18 tournaments were used then to calculate rankings. Consequently, some players played the ranking game/maintained a high rank by playing week in and week out. Case in point: Martina Hingis). Lindsey Davenport, Jennifer Capriati and Martina Hingis were perceived as obstacles in Serena’s path to exceed Graf. Plus, there was her big sister, the big serving Venus Williams.
In spite of technical weaknesses in her game, and Serena the sounder of the two, Venus Williams was indisputably the Queen of Tennis, and the only contender in sight; the only person on the trajectory to reach Graf. Even though Serena was a child of promise, so was Venus who was just getting in stride.
Pointed out was that Serena’s physique was a deterrent to her being a future great; equalling or surpassing Graf’s 22 Grand Slam totals.
Serena didn’t have that “success model” athletic build. Her breasts were too big; thunderous. Its weight hampers movement and that would affect her in the long run.
Lending credence to that school of thought was that the only other girl on tour with breasts nearly as large was Sandrine Testude, who was tall and had a slim built. And Testude was just an average player.
Serena’s size; thickness and big breasts (Methinks Serena did have breast reduction surgery.) proved to be no obstacle in her stellar career. Serena is inarguably one of the fittest females in the WTA.
Today, is the third time this year, Serena Williams is on the threshold of history; tying Steffi Graf’s 22 Grand Slam titles. Standing in the way is Angelique Kerber who denied Serena the 2016 Australian Open title.
That Serena could reach the finals of the Australian Open, the French Open, and now Wimbledon, at the ripe age of 35 (Okay, she’s a few months short.) is a testament to her fitness and greatness. Win or lose today, congratulations is in order.
I’m rooting for you Terror Fabulous.
By N Oji Mzilikazi
29 September 2015
Serena Williams is undeniably the greatest female athlete of the era, maybe the era’s greatest athlete. Yet, Williams is ranked 47 on Forbes’s list of the highest paid athletes. And of the seven tennis players on the list (Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori, Serena Williams), Serena ranks last in endorsement dollars.
Given that centuries of patriarchal dominance has it that males are paid much more than females, even if and when all things are equal, male athletes including the less-successful having more endorsement deals/making more money than Serena Williams is par for the course, but Maria Sharapova?
Maria Sharapova cannot light a candle to Serena. Serena has had 17 consecutive victories over Maria. Serena has twice the amount of career titles owned by Sharapova.
Serena leads all active players with 21 Grand Slams. Next is Venus Williams with 7, then Maria Sharapova with 5.
Sharapova has not defeated Serena since 2004. But since 2004, Sharapova has been the world’s highest-paid female athlete.
Serena can’t touch Sharapova when it comes to sponsorships. And it has everything to do with Serena Williams’ blackness.
Martina Hingis whose career was brought to a premature end when she failed a drugs test for cocaine during Wimbledon said of the Williams sisters: Being black only helps them. Many times they get sponsors because they are black.
Contrary to Hingis’ musing, the blackness of Serena and Venus is precisely why sponsors do not knock on their doors as they ought to.
Economics is at the heart of racism. Racial discrimination is rooted in economics. Hence, racism enduring support – even when its tenets are both scientifically and intellectual debunked. Racial discrimination is the lived experience of people of African descent, yet the insidiousness that black skin accrues unwarranted privileges and benefits still hold sway.
Anna Kournikova never won a WTA singles tournament or reached a singles Grand Slam final, yet Kournikova was able to make a personal fortune out of endorsements.
Kournikova earnings allowed her parents to live off her. And so much so, they sued her to protect their continued feeding.
Kournikova fulfilled the stereotypical white and blond beauty template. The one that causes white prepubescent boys and white teenage boys to drool, adult white boys to have sexual fantasies, and old white men desirous of having the person as trophy or be in their company, and young girls to admire, aspire to become or imitate.
Kournikova was tennis’s favourite pinup girl. Boys loved Anna Kournikova. Girls loved Anna Kournikova. Tennis tournaments loved Anna Kournikova. Wall Street loved Anna Kournikova.
Kournikova was given centre courts to play all her tennis matches, and Kournikova landed “A class” sponsors like Charles Schwab, Adidas, and Omega Watches.
Dubbed the “most successful loser in sports,” Kournikova even eclipsed Venus Williams, with all her career titles including Grand Slam wins, as the highest-paid female athlete.
Many tennis pundits didn’t like that Venus Williams and Serena Williams were winning numerous titles and increasingly were the last two standing in Grand Slam finals. So they poisoned the airwaves, television’s watching audience and the printed page with innuendos and bias. They needed a white heroine…
When Maria Sharapova defeated Serena Williams to claim the 2004 Wimbledon title, she was immediately crowned tennis “It” girl.
The tennis establishment saw Sharapova as the long awaited sexy and beautiful white hope to “rescue” the WTA from the clutches of the “Amazonian” Williams’ sisters. They gushed over her win as one for the ages, and a lot was made of it being in straight sets.
Concerned solely with white demographics, Wall Street saw Sharapova as the perfect choice to advertise/sell their product and services. Thus, Sharapova was able to secure contracts with some of the biggest companies, and remain the world’s highest paid female athlete — for so long.
In their eyes, despite the inroads and successes of Black and Asian tennis players, tennis is still a white country-club sport.
In their eyes, Serena Williams doesn’t cut it.
In spite of her athletic ability and talents, celebrity status and visibility, her downright African phenotype and “militant” blackness as opposed to the “subdued and downplayed” blackness of the likes of Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan negates her bankability.
In 2000, Serena boycotted the Family Circle Cup in Hilton Head, South Carolina, over the Confederate Flag being flown over the State Capitol. Serena boycotted Indian Wells for 14 years on account of the boos and racial slurs thrown at her father and Venus when they came to see her contest the 2001 finals.
In embodying the “skinny white chick,” Maria Sharapova with her one-dimensional ball-bashing game, woeful court movement, and banshee wailing is seen as worth every penny.
Meritocracy is a myth…
By N Oji Mzilikazi
12 July 2015
The default meter of greatness — for racists, is white. Consequently, the minute a Black athlete is a serious threat to a record held by a white person; racists get agitated and unleash their bias and hatred.
Hank Aaron received thousands of hate mail and death threats before and after breaking Babe Ruth’s baseball record: “You are (not) going to break this record established by the great Babe Ruth if I can help it,” one of them reads. “Whites are far more superior than jungle bunnies. My gun is watching your every black move.”
Tiger Woods has long made it known that his dream is to surpass Jack Nicklaus’ golfing record of 18 majors. And that has offended to no end. Woods has 14.
In an April 2009 article outlining why people don’t like Tiger Woods, Tim Dahlberg, AP Sports Columnist included the following: “He’s won enough” and “He scares people (his fellow players).”
In January 2008, Golf Channel lead anchor, Kelly Tilghman, suggested one way for young players to deal with the challenge posed by Woods would be to lynch Tiger Woods in a back alley.
Given that “lynching” and its symbol the noose was used to murder, intimidate, and terrorise African Americans for centuries, Tilghman’s invocation of the term speaks volumes.
Tiger Woods last major was seven years ago — the 2008 U.S. Open. Since then Woods has been subjected to a world of injury, personal troubles and marital woes of his own making, and horrible performances on the greens. Woods is now No. 241 in the world golf rankings.
For having the audacity arrogance to pursue Nicklaus, the haters rejoice in and relish every bad minute or moment in Woods life, as well as his every misstep. Even players that were of no consequence on the tour joined in the feeding frenzy.
Ernie Els slammed Tiger Woods for his presser addressing his car accident and marital infidelity.
Els said that Woods doing so on the Friday of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship “takes a lot away from the golf tournament.” Els called it “selfish.”
Billy Payne, the chairman of Augusta National and the Masters ripped into Tiger Woods in his 2010 annual pre-Masters press conference. Payne’s opening speech about Woods was unprecedented.
For all of Woods womanizing and infidelity, if Woods had cheated on his wife with men — and come out as gay, he would’ve been soundly embraced by the media a la Caitlyn Jenner. Tiger’s infidelity was just a ruse for many to display envy and hate.
Serena Williams has repeatedly demonstrated she is a champion par excellence. Still, she has repeatedly been counted out of the game by those who ought to know better, as well as by the haters and those who don’t like her.
Pat Cash is a former world No 1, a winner of several Grand Slam titles, and a Tennis Hall of Famer. Cash knows his tennis. Cash is also not a fan of the Williams’ sisters.
While everyone is entitled to root for or against anyone, one would think the intelligent and those with access to a “bully pulpit” would refrain from casting aspersions, making innuendos against those they dislike or rile the illiterate. When it comes to Venus and Serena Williams, commentators and writers act as if they have a license to “pyss” on them.
In July 2000, Cash said the Wimbledon semi-final match between Serena Williams and Venus Williams was fixed by their father, Richard Williams.
So filled is Cash with anti-Williams bias, he does not recognize that alongside Serena’s prodigious talents, Serena owns mental strength and have unbending intent and indefatigable spirit.
Ignorantly, Cash declares in The Times, January 14, 2007: For all her talk, Serena Williams will never return to the top again. Serena was then the world’s 81st-ranked player.
Two weeks later Serena trashed Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-2 in the Australian Open final that lasted only 63 minutes.
In his apology, Cash unnecessarily stated: I was not alone. Tracy Austin, who knows more about women’s tennis than me, laughed at the suggestion that the former world No 1 had a legitimate shot at climbing back to the top.
Tracy Austin had predicted Serena will fall to top-seeded Sharapova in Aussie final. Austin stated with authority: “Sharapova is going to be a huge step up in class for Williams — too big a step in my opinion as I see the Russian taking the title.”
Within minutes of Serena defeating Sharapova, MSNBC pulled Austin’s article: Serena’s improbable run to end. Clearly, it was to protect Tracy Austin’s reputation. The Williams’ fans that inhabited ESPN Tennis Message board promptly fired off complaints to NBC.
A loss by Serena to Justine Henin at the 2007 U.S. Open, prompted Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post to state about Serena: Someday she may have to cope with the fact that real greatness isn’t hers, but rather, just a whisper of something she overheard through a door she never entered.
Jenkins has a history of anti-Williams, and I daresay anti-Black tirades (Barry Bonds).
Jenkins went out of her way to excuse Michael Phelps when caught smoking out of a bong in 2009, and when caught driving under the influence in 2004.
One of the things Jenkins stated in regards to Phelps was: Being a champion is frankly not the most healthful career to aspire to; it’s an abnormally stressful one. Yet, Jenkins had no qualms about crucifying Serena Williams for her U.S. Open outburst/manifestation of stress.
In the November 1, 2010, Bleacher Report, Anders Lammers emphatically made this declaration about Serena Williams: We’ll never see her as the No. 1 again.
Serena has been No. 1 for 124 weeks in a row, and is 6,671 points ahead of current World No.2 Maria Sharapova.
The list of Serena and Venus Williams detractors is long…
In winning the 2015 Australian Open and 2015 French Open, Serena Williams is two Grand Slams behind the great Steffi Graf, and halfway towards a Calendar slam; winning all four Grand Slams in a calendar year.
The last person to win the Calendar Slam was Steffi Graf — in 1988. And in winning the Olympics that year, Graf owns the Golden Slam.
Not only does winning Wimbledon 2015 bring Serena closer to Graf, but it gives Serena four consecutive Slams; the “Serena Slam” — for the second time in her career.
Given the Wimbledon draw, and Serena’s struggles at the French, even though she emerged victorious, fans that dislike Serena and fans that do not want her to reach and/or break Steffi Graf’s record dreamed, hoped and prayed for an upset along the way. That upset nearly took place in the third round.
Serena’s third-round match against England’s Heather Watson started off as a routine Williams’ win. The first set was over in 25 minutes and then — Watson won the second set playing inspirational tennis as well as the best tennis of her life. Centre Court was alive. The crowd now partisan was madly cheering for their home girl, rooting for her to send Serena packing, and some given to booing Serena.
Watson broke Williams to love to serve for the match. An upset was in the making… Watson was two points from victory — and just couldn’t get it done.
While Watson’s display of talent and skill in her match with Serena warrants the subsequent accolades, respect, and made Britain proud, the massive rooting did not all come from nationalistic pride. Some came from those who saw Watson as a foil to derail Serena’s ambitions; bring her one win from tying Steffi Graf.
Why do I make such a claim? Two days prior to the Serena encounter, Britain’s No. 1 female tennis player revealed in a post-match press conference that she has been a victim of social media abuse: I’ve had death threats. I’ve had people threatening to kill me and kill my family, wishing that I get cancer and die a slow, painful death.
What would prompt such haters to root for Heather Watson other than not wanting the most dominant athlete ever in the WTA eclipse their idol? Forget the “rooting for the underdog” canard. You would never hear fans and commentators rooting for the underdog to upset Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Raphael Nadal, or former players like Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Pete Sampras or Andre Agassi. Rooting for the underdog only comes into play when a Williams’ sister is on court.
By N Oji Mzilikazi
11 July 2015
I’ve been a die-hard tennis fan all my life, especially of the women’s game (WTA). Exposed thighs, heaving breasts and the imprint of nipples did it for me.
My favourites were never the big name stars/players like Tracy Austin, Chris Evert or Martina Navratilova, but those I deemed had that indefinable thing as well as heart, spirit, fight, even when weighted by a defective game. My all-time favourite was Amanda Coetzer — until Venus Williams and Serena Williams came on the scene.
No disrespect to the Black predecessors of Venus and Serena that played the WTA like Zina Garrison and Lori McNeil or the likes of Chanda Rubin and Mashona Washington that were WTA classmates at one point in time, but with Venus and Serena, I finally had Black players with mad skills, never before seen power, killer instincts, self-belief, pride of self and unashamed blackness — to root for.
As someone weaned on songs of liberation, racial elevation, contributing positively to the commonwealth of blackness and challenging racism, I take names of the tennis pundits, sports and/or tennis commentators, writers, and former or current tennis players that have displayed racial bias towards Venus Williams and/or Serena Williams, take cheap shots, make animal/beast analogies, nasty jokes, vitriolic comments, cast aspersions and innuendos and/or said or wrote disparaging things about them or delivered unwarranted and unjust attacks on them as well as underhanded and backhanded comments. The list is long.
Chris Chase has a long history of anti-Williams bias, gladly pointing out any sins of omission or commission, and rejoicing when they lose. The sad man even decried Serena winning the 2009 Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year Award. He chalked it up to “an epically bad slate of 2009 candidates.”
In Chase’s June 26, 2015, brew of “haterade,” he posited: Serena Williams won’t win Wimbledon.
Boastingly, he added that he made the prediction without looking at the draw. (Serena half of the draw contained the likes of Venus Williams, Victoria Azarenka, and Maria Sharapova; all with the skills, talent and power to take down Serena.)
When Venus and Azarenka failed to vindicate his prediction, Chase decided to go for the long shot.
Maria Sharapova has a 16-match losing streak against Serena. Since nothing lasts forever, Maria is due for an eventual win. Believing nobody beats Maria Sharapova 17 times in a row, Chase predicted Maria Sharapova will stun Serena Williams in the semi-finals.
Serena won Wimbledon and Chase was left with egg all over his face.
Black public figures are just as opened to bias and discrimination as any of us…
TO RECTIFY DAMAGE, REVERSE OUR PARALYSIS
(Part 3)
By N Oji Mzilikazi
Originally appeared in the Montreal Community Contact Volume 24, Number 12 June 12, 2014
What is the purpose of education for the children of enslavement and colonialism who bear multitudinous psychological, educational and economical scars from centuries of inhumane and unbridled exploitation, torturous suffering, dehumanization, racism, discrimination and hatred, if not to make us whole?
Yet the scars of colonialism; internalized racism and self-hate have many believing it’s all about becoming privilege, being a cut above others of the race, achieving “white gaze” – validation and approval of whites – escaping the constraints racism placed on Blackness…