After Atalanta

Richard Williams, father of tennis players Venus and Serena Williams, gave an interview on March 13 [ok ok I am a little behind but I have been on spring break and my comments are still relevant even if the story is old] in which he talks about racism in tennis. He also talked about a few other things including his own prejudices and the careers of Tracy Austin and Chris Evert whom he referred to as "no good trasher[s]...who cannot hit the ball." This has caused some...ahem...discord. I don't agree with what he said. I think it's insulting to Austin (who I actually never saw play as I was just a wee one when she was on tour but I'm pretty sure she would hit the ball) and Evert. And WTA CEO Larry Scott was right to publicly denounce Williams's comments on Evert and Austin, but he's fooling himself if thinks that the tour's "zero tolerance policy" on racism or his encouragement of Williams to go to him when he has "evidence of racist comme...

The work Billie Jean King is doing promoting the women's year-end championship in Qatar is the focus of this AP article . She discusses her desire to bring the sport to the Middle East and to bring sport to middle eastern women. It also notes some of the challenges such as advertising the event in public in ways that do not offend the Muslim culture there. In other words--no picture of players in their skirts and tanks. But WTA head Larry Scott said he doesn't really want to look at any contradictions with the values of the WTA and such concessions. Probably because Scott isn't able to see contradictions generally so it could be a difficult task for him. I'm not even sure he knows what a contradiction is based on his comments: "Our role is not to discuss concerns we have about society." But then: " We are here to build sport, and as a supporting organisation we believe we are a catalyst for change.... Sport is a reflection of society. This event could no...

WTA CEO Larry Scott will not be doing as much international travelling. He's been chosen as the new Pac-10 commissioner. I'm not shedding any tears . I was never that impressed with Scott despite his brokering of the Sony Ericson sponsorship. And that someone actually thought he brought credibility to the women's tour is a little suspect. I did not realize it lacked credibility in the pre-Scott era. I actually think it was Billie Jean King who brought said credibility to the women's tour--you know by starting it and promoting it and all! Scott wasn't the search committee's first choice , though. In fact they tried for Condoleezza Rice (among others) before they found a willing Scott. But Stanford's Bob Bowlsby is making the best of it by saying that the committee is impressed by Scott's negotiation of television contracts--something the Pac-10 is lacking right now. And hey, the Pac-10's (questionable) gain is a great opportunity for the WTA.

It's all about Twitter these days. I was listening to one of my favorite college radio station Saturday and was told I could tweet my request in. (Of course I am not on Twitter yet so I would have to be a little more traditional and email it or even--gasp--phone it in!) But the Twitter/sports connection is also a hot topic. Check out Women Talk Sports for all the takes on Twitter and women's sports. And even SI.com is taking up the topic. Professional golfers and tennis players are twittering--but not from the course or court. Though I have to wonder if that is next. Might be a way to get around that whole coaching from the stands issue. (Not that that is really such an anomaly as I saw, in person, at Roland Garros this year.) Though members of the WPS are tweeting from the sidelines of their games. I wonder which sport(s) will be next. Baseball and softball seem likely candidates. Women's pro fastpitch could definitely use some twittering action, if, as some predict, Twit...

Well give WTA officials some credit. They are seriously talking about taking the Barclay's Dubai Championships off the tournament schedule because of the recent controversy over the visa denied to Israeli player Shahar Peer. Unfortunately, the reason given by WTA head Larry Scott is because the actions of the united Arab Emirates goes against the principle that sports and politics should not mix. Ironic given that pulling WTA support for the tournament will be a political act by a sports organization. Peer herself is espousing the "party line": I think a red line has been crossed here that could harm the purity of the sport and other sports. I have always believed that politics and sports should not be mixed.” This kind of reasoning is why athletes are so unlikely to take a stand against an act like this. This is why no player would dream of supporting Peer by, say, withdrawing from the tournament. Peer is lucky this time that the WTA is on her side. But if it wasn't,...

The Women's Tennis Association has found a new CEO . It is a familiar face: current president Stacy Allaster. I know very (very) little about the leadership of the WTA except that I was not a huge fan of Larry Scott who announced his leave from the position in March and is now head of the PAC-10. So Allaster has a blank slate as far as I am concerned. We shall see...

I started this post a few weeks ago and just hadn't finished it. But Justine Henin's recent comments about politics and sport got me back to it. This article was focused on her complaint lodged with the WTA over Yuri Sharapov's cutting of the throat gesture during Henin's match against Maria Sharapova. Interesting story in itself though it seems nothing will come of it--officially that is. Though I have to imagine that Larry Scott WTA CEO will be having a chat with Sharapov about his courtside behavior. But the second half is about Henin's recent comments that Olympics athletes should not involve themselves with the debate over human rights issues in China. "Politics and sport must remain separate" she said. She said she will be focusing on defending her gold medal and other Olympians should be equally focused on the "job" at hand which is being an athlete. What kind of blinders are athletes wearing that allows them not to see how thoroughly entw...