Modern Day Apology

In last night’s US Open, Serena Williams went ballistic on a small woman line judge. Serena who is built like a dump truck couldn’t understand why the little lady would feel threatened. If you watched it you would see Serena walk over to her with racket in hand, point the racket angrily at the woman and said, “If I could, I would take … this ball and … shove it down your throat.”

That type of behavior is very rare in sports. Especially in Tennis. After twenty four hours of thought on the subject here is the statement Serena came up with:

“Last night everyone could truly see the passion I have for my job. Now that I have had time to gain my composure, I can see that while I don’t agree with the unfair line call, in the heat of battle I let my passion and emotion get the better of me and as a result handled the situation poorly. I would like to thank my fans and supporters for understanding that I am human and I look forward to continuing the journey, both professionally and personally, with you all as I move forward and grow from this experience.”

What is she clearly saying in this statement?

• She should be applauded for taking her job seriously
• She is no worse than anyone else
• Forget about it because it is no big deal

I can’t stand it when people say, “I am human”. I’m pretty sure we don’t need to be reminded of that. It seems fairly obvious.

I’m sure that she will come out with a real apology in a few more days but she’s shown who she is, and at this point and I don’t see any class in her character.