Earlier this week the Barclays Dubai WTA tournament didn’t let Israeli player Shahar Pe’er play in the tournament. Specifically the United Arab Emirates did not allow her a visa into the country citing security issues because she’s Jewish. The WTA considered canceling the tournament but determined it wouldn’t be fair to all the other players who had already arrived in Dubai and were prepared to play. They also threatened not to return to Dubai next year. Since then, the UAE has said they will grant a visa to Andy Ram, an Israeli male, so he can participate in the men’s tournament next week. I’m particularly perturbed that more tennis players didn’t stand up for Pe’er and threaten to boycott the tournament for their blatantly discriminatory practice. I’m also upset with Venus Williams and Serena Williams for not stepping up when the opportunity presented itself. Here was Venus’ reasoning:

“I have to look at the bigger picture. The big picture is that Shahar Peer didn’t get a chance to play, but making an immediate decision we also have to look at sponsors, fans and everyone who has invested a lot in the tournament.
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There are so many other people involved. Sponsors are important to us,” Williams said. “We wouldn’t be here without sponsors and we can’t let them down. Whatever we do, we need to do as a team – players, sponsors, tour and whoever – and not all break off in one direction. We are team players.”

What disappoints me is that in a time when Venus had a chance to step up and make a statement against what she knows is wrong, she decided to recite the company line and cite economical reasons. The reason I single out the Williams sisters is because they are two of the biggest names on the tour and because they have experienced racial discrimination in their lives. If anyone would know how badly Pe’er feels and how important it is to speak up at a time like this, I would think it would be them. Moreover, from what I could tell, they were the only American women (and certainly by far the most prominent if there were others) in the tournament, representing a country that stands for equal rights and democracy. If ever there was a time to take a stand, this was it. It’s a shame that they and the other women didn’t speak up.

So to answer the age old question: what do Bill Clinton and Yao Ming have in common? They both will be honorary recipients of degrees from the University of Hong Kong for their roles in HIV/AIDS research and advocacy. In case you’re wondering how Dr. Ming qualifies, HKU has it described:

Mr Yao has made outstanding contributions in HIV/AIDS advocacy, appearing with Mr Magic Johnson on commercials to support the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, and taking part in various activities on the Mainland, such as visiting children living with the disease. He has helped fight the social and cultural stigma associated with HIV/AIDS with his positive attitude and participation in the prevention and treatment of the disease, and continues to advocate action, care and full integration of people living with HIV/AIDS. In September 2008, Mr Yao was presented with the Award for Outstanding Contributions to the AIDS Response by UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.

And now he’s receiving a doctorate in social sciences. Quite the honor, I must say. It’s nice to see Yao get the recognition for all of the wonderful things he does off the court. And in addition to Bill Clinton, Yao now has something in common with Venus Williams and Joe Morgan. Dr. Ming. I think it has a nice ring.

This might initially appear to you as a headline written for immediate shock value. Au contraire, it is merely representative of Richard Willams’ thoughts. Richard Williams, for those of you unfamiliar with him, is the father of Venus and Serena Williams. He is no stranger to racial issues in tennis, nor is his daughter, Serena. But You Been Blinded points out that Richard Williams was exceptionally caustic in his comments about the white man recently. As he told the Deccan Herald:

Tennis is a prejudice game. Well, I’m Black and I’m prejudiced, very prejudiced. I’ll be always prejudiced as the White man. The White man hated me all my life and I hate him. That’s no secret. I’m not even an American, it just so happens that I was born in America. People are prejudiced in tennis. I don’t think Venus or Serena was ever accepted by tennis. They never will be. But if you get some little White no good trasher in America like Tracy Austin or Chris Evert who cannot hit the ball, they will claim this is great.

Must we revisit this subject again? It’s not my place to discuss how Richard Williams has been treated his entire life — I don’t have a clue. But I do know that any time a person says “I hate ___,” they’re putting themselves on thin ice. It also doesn’t help when you’re talking about most of the population either. Man, talk about going waaaay off the deep board here. Sheesh.

The recent grand slam results for each of them speak loudly, starting with the quarterfinal exit by both Venus and Serena at the Australian Open. The sisters are still top 10 players who can go far in the tournaments, but it’s no longer a lock that at least one sister will reach the finals, or even semifinals of a grand slam event. Venus Williams expressed the same sentiment in her post-match comments following her quarterfinal loss to Ana Ivanovic. As Venus said, she and Serena are playing at a good level, it’s just that the competition is improving (and surpassing them, I believe). It’s also a matter of the two women being past their peaks, which is typically at a much younger age for women in tennis than men.

Usually at a grand slam event, one of them goes far, if not both. If one goes out early, at least the other goes farther, like to the semis or finals. I’m not saying that they should be pulling titles left and right — that is unreasonable. The reality of the situation is that there are several good, young players in the game today who can knock either one out. No, I’m not completely writing the sisters off here, but I will say it without a doubt, this Australian Open marked the definite end of dominance by the Williams sisters. I think I’m being fair when I say I’ll give them one more grand slam title between the two of them for the rest of their careers.

Just last week we had a Golf Channel announcer make an off color remark about Tiger Woods — and that’s putting it mildly. Maybe I’m talking to myself here when I say that announcers need to watch what they say on-air. Remember a while back we had the story of the women’s basketball announcer who thought one of the coaches was hot but didn’t realize his microphone was live when he said it? Yeah, that was bad. Well Roger Rasheed is following in everyone’s footsteps. Check out what happened with him:

Roger Rasheed, a former coach of Lleyton Hewitt, commented on Williams bottom during a slow motion replay of her match against China’s Yan Zi at the Australian Open.

“Take a look at this now. Make or think as you will, ladies, but for me, that’s a pretty good sight,” The Daily Telegraph quoted him, as telling co-commentators Tracy Austin and Nicole Bradtke.

And while the two women found it funny, viewers certainly didnt and broadcaster Channel Seven was inundated with calls.

Though admitting that there had been a number of calls, the broadcaster maintained that there would be no action taken against Rasheed for his comments.

Now, I wonder what Venus’ alleged fiance would have to say about all this? Probably would just take it as a compliment — after all, it’s Serena who’s quite bootylicious.

UPDATE: video below, via Awful Announcing and FanIQ

Read The Full Story…

I told you before about Venus Williams and Hank Kuehne getting pretty close to each other and being photographed together at Wimbledon. Well, the cushy couple are now reportedly set to get married. It’s being said that boyfriend Hank has popped the question:

Venus Williams will soon be planning her wedding now that beau Hank Kuehne has popped the question.

The news of the engagement comes after a year of courtship.

A source close to the star tells MediaTakeOut.com, that the couple are trying to stay away from the spotlight especially as Williams is preparing for the Australian Open.

Venus is preparing for (the Australian Open) and she doesn’t need the (media) distraction, Contactmusic quoted the source, as saying.

Best of luck to the pair and hopefully the marriage works out. Hopefully Venus can find a way to balance her tennis career with a new love life and family, just as she was able to balance out going to college with tennis. Congrats to Venus and Hank if the rumors of the marriage are true. Now, who will be lucky enough to marry Venus’ bootylicious sister, Serena?