September 12, 2018
By: Linda Case Gibbons, Esq.
It was a Why-Me-Hillary-Loss all over again.
Except this time it wasn't politics. It was tennis. And it wasn't Hill. It was Serena Williams.
But the same time-honored adage applies to both. "Sometimes you're just not good enough."
You didn't ace that test. Like you thought you should. You didn't win. The election. Or the match.
Like you thought you should.
You lost. But when things like that happen, you have a choice. You can blame other people, or circumstances. Or you can take it on the chin.
Neither Hillary nor Serena decided to take it on the chin.
But both finally figured out what went wrong. And no. They didn't think it was anything they did.
It was other people. And circumstances.
It was the Electoral College and Trump-supporting Deplorables for Hillary. Racism for Serena. And for both, it was misogyny.
But for those of us watching, that didn't seem to be the case. Instead we saw two ladies who didn't seem to be in very good shape.
During her presidential campaign, Hillary had to travel with a doctor on deck, famously collapsing at a 9/11 ceremony.
Serena had just gone through a difficult pregnancy and delivery, and, we are told, has a history of blood clots. So unfortunate.
But after the birth of her daughter. A year ago. Williams lost an exhibition game against Jelena Ostapenso in Abu Dhabi in December, and withdrew from the Australian Open in June 2018 due to an injury.
Losing was a reality for both women.
Even after The New York Times gave Hillary a 99 percent thumbs up to win, Trump trumped her with 307 Electoral College votes.
And Serena didn't win her 24th record-setting Grand Slam. Even though everyone expected she would.
Neither of them could let it go. Because both believed they deserved to win.
And that is the real problem. Entitlement.
Hillary traversed the globe, bereft at her loss, explaining endlessly why it happened. She even wrote a book about it, "What Happened."
She felt she was entitled and she was mad.
Serena made a scene at the U.S. Open this week after she was penalized for her bad behavior. She was already losing. And she was mad.
She felt she was entitled.
She ran into trouble for receiving coaching during the match, demolishing her racket in a fit of pique, and calling umpire Carlos Ramos a "thief," after he noticed.
Because he was the umpire, and these were violations. Although some supporters said it was no big deal. That everybody did it.
But it's as clear as day what the real problem is. Hillary wasn't up to snuff. And Serena wasn't, either.
The media supported Hillary's election-outrage, and has upped the ante against the president for two long years.
The Women's Tennis Association, the media, and Billie Jean King came out in support of what Williams did on the court. But another tennis super star disagreed, in part.
Martina Navratilova said while she agreed that a double standard exists for women when it comes to how behavior is punished, nonetheless, "We cannot measure ourselves by what we think we should also be able to get away with. In fact, this is the sort of behavior that no one should be engaging in on the court."
Or in politics.
"I think the question we have to ask ourselves is this: What is the right way to behave to honor our sport and to respect our opponents?"
During her meltdown, Williams claimed that she was fighting for women's rights. "I have a daughter," she yelled. "And I stand for what's right!"
You could feel the entire female world population wincing.
No one wants to hear about your kid, just as no one wants to hear why football players take a knee as the first strains of our National Anthem start to play.
Fans just want to see a good game.
As far as Serena being "right?" All you have to do is take a look at her opponent, the 20-year-old who won that day. The first Japanese to win a Grand Slam event.
After her victory, she stood sobbing, with a towel covering her head and face.
When she received her award, she apologized for winning.
"I know everyone was cheering for her," she said. "I'm sorry it had to end like this."
Of course it didn't have to. Williams, and, yeah, Clinton, could have taken it on the chin.
As concerned as she was about her own daughter, I wonder if Serena Williams stopped to realize that Osaka was someone's daughter, too.
I wonder if she realized that Naomi Osaka will never get back the wonderful day of her victory at the U. S. Open.
And I wonder if either Hillary or Serena think about what sort of an example they have set for the women they claim to "protect."
But I don't think these thoughts ever entered the minds of these Entitled women. These Mothers. These Sore Losers.
Hold the line, America.
Where We Go One, We Go All.