_Tatyana Monnay is a sophomore journalism major at MU. She is an opinion columnist who writes about politics for The Maneater._
[For those who missed it](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/09/sports/serena-osaka-us-open-penalty.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article): At an early stage in her second set at the United States Open final on Saturday the 8th of Sept. , Serena Williams received a warning for coaching. After she received the warning, Williams became upset with the chair umpire, Carlos Ramos. She then had a heated discussion with him. This is where the conflict seemed to end.
A few games later, Williams lost her serve at 3-1 up and broke her racket. This is an automatic violation. Since Williams had already received a warning for coaching, the second violation resulted in Osaka gaining one point in the next game.
Williams chose to argue with Ramos about the point penalty. Williams said that she did not receive coaching and should not have received the code violations. During the argument, Williams called Ramos a thief for taking the point away from her. This was the final straw and she received another violation.
Overall, Williams had an automatic point against her. These three violations, equivalent to her opponent Naomi Osaka acing her four times in a row, cost Williams the game. On top of this, Williams was fined a total of $17,000 by the U.S. Tennis Association.
Her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, is responsible for this one. In tennis, it is illegal for players to receive coaching while playing. Even though it is illegal, it is very common for coaches to violate this rule and coach their players during the game. Coaches are often called out on it by umpires. Usually, players will receive a “soft warning” from the umpire. This allows the player to tell their coach to quiet down. For whatever reason, Ramos choose not to give Williams a “soft warning.”
After the match, Mouratoglou [admitted](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/09/sports/serena-osaka-us-open-penalty.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article) to coaching Williams during the game and accused Osaka’s coach for doing the same thing.
During an after-match press conference, Williams [said](https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/09/serena-williams-naomi-osaka-us-open-final-sexist-remark-umpire-argument-press-conference-video) this about the violations: “I can’t sit here and say I wouldn’t say he’s a thief because I thought he took a game from me. But I’ve seen other men call other umpires several things, and I’m here, fighting for women’s rights and for women’s equality and for all kinds of stuff.”
Williams is right to say that male players get treated differently in tennis than female players. Men get cut much more slack, just in general, and tennis is not known for treating women fairly.
And after the discrimination and racism Williams has faced in the game, it’s not surprising she had such an intense reaction to the violations. Since early on in Williams career, she has been subjected to countless racially motivated attacks on her athleticism, appearance and extreme criticism from fans, haters and the media.
At the 2001 BNP Paribus Open, Williams [said in interview with USA Today](http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/stories/2001-03-26-williams.htm) that, “When Venus and I were walking down the stairs to our seats, people kept calling me ‘nigger.’” Her father and previous coach Richard Williams also told USA Today that one man said, “‘I wish it was ’75; we’d skin you alive.’”
In a 2009 column that completely slammed Williams, Fox Sports commentator Jason Whitlock [said](https://deadspin.com/5309173/oh–jason-youve-really-gone-and-done-it-now), “She’d rather eat, half-ass her way through non-major tournaments and complain she’s not getting the respect her 11-major-championships resume demands… [S]eriously, how else can Serena fill out her size 16 shorts without grazing at her stall between matches?”
You would think that offensive language like this would stop in 2018. However, in reaction to William’s behavior, Australian cartoonist [Mark Knight published](https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/herald-sun-backs-mark-knights-cartoon-on-serena-williams/news-story/30c877e3937a510d64609d89ac521d9f) a cartoon of Williams’ behavior at the game. The cartoon, which was published in the Herald Sun, was disgustingly reminiscent of racist caricatures from the Jim Crow era.
The cartoon is just another example of the inappropriate and racist coverage Williams receives.
Serena got one thing wrong on Saturday.
To argue for women’s rights should not be an argument for women and men to have the same bad behavior. It should be for women and men to be treated the same, and for the same bad behavior to not be tolerated – which in a sense, is what Williams is arguing for.
Also, maybe it is time to change the rules of tennis. Coaching should be allowed during the games. It is allowed in almost every other sport. Either that, or penalize coaches more harshly to ensure that it stops, rather than the player.
Williams wasn’t unreasonable in her anger. It is never appropriate and this is not the time to label Williams with the typically racist “angry black woman” stereotype.
Ramos should have given her the typical “soft warning” before she got a real violation for coaching. How would the situation have played out if Williams were a man? Would it have ended differently?
It is a shame that Osaka’s first U.S. Open final victory and the history of her win was overshadowed by Williams’ controversial violations.