Serena Williams US Open Scandal, Sexism, Racism or Both?

Attorney Antonio Moore reviews the recent accusations of cheating by the referee of the US Open against Serena Williams. Moore looks at the history of what Venus Williams, Serena WIlliams, and Richard Willams have faced on there rise to the top of women’s tennis. Moore also talks about the offensive cartoon drawn by Herald-Sun cartoonist Mark Knight

 

A new editorial cartoon shows yet another racist depiction of Serena Williams

Whether or not you think Williams’s behavior during the match warranted the penalties that eventually cost her the game, Knight’s depiction of Williams is a jarring reminder of insidious, racist tropes that undercut black women in America. And Williams has repeatedly been a target of those tropes — despite the fact that she’s one of the most prominent, successful athletes in the world, regardless of gender — throughout her storied career.

(For contrast, it’s worth noting how Osaka, who is Japanese and Haitian, is depicted in the cartoon as lithe, expressionless, and, as some have observed, seemingly whitewashed.)

Knight’s cartoon is a literal illustration of the way society is quick to degrade women — and black women in particular — when they don’t fall in line with the ways women are “supposed” to act. Not only is Williams depicted as a petulant toddler for having spoken up about what she felt was a sexist call, but also as a hulking, animal-like brute.