Kevin Blackistone FanHouse

Controversy Pays: Flip Out and Cash In

Kevin Blackistone — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Tennis

If there is one truth about outrageous behavior it is that the only people who really wind up paying for it are companies seeing an opportunity to cash in, like Volkswagen with a screaming Bob Knight or American Express with an apologetic John McEnroe or, fresh off Madison Avenue, a ballistic Serena Williams firing away at Mother Nature.

But why stop at just a few athletes gone wild? There are a lot of other stars of our games whose personalities would do wonders for some other hawkers of products and ideas.

For Nationwide Auto Insurance: Renault F1 principal Flavio Briatore, chief engineer Pat Symonds and driver Nelson Piquet Jr., who purposely caused an accident to help teammate Fernando Alonso win a race.

For StubHub: The Washington Redskins, who admitted recently to having sold top-priced tickets to scalpers.

For Match.com: Dirk Nowitzki, who found out last season that his girlfriend at the time, Cristal Taylor, was a criminal with several alias wanted by police in another state.

For Cleto Reyes Boxing Gloves, the world's best: Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount, who was suspended for the rest of the year after knocking out Boise State defensive end Byron Hout with a straight right after the end of their season-opening contest earlier this month.

For Toastmasters International, the public speaking teaching group: Michael Jordan.

For Mentos Chewing Gum ("There's nothing like a Mentos kiss"): Richard Gasquet, who was suspended from the tennis circuit after testing positive for cocaine in March at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., after, he said, he was inadvertently contaminated from kissing a woman at a Miami nightclub.

For the Anti-Defamation League: Toni Valtonen, the MMA tomato can adorned with a swastika tattoo on his shoulder and the words "white pride" inked on his back.

For Dale Carnegie Training (How to Win Friends and Influence People): Washington inactive rookie linebacker Robert Henson, who apologized for tweeting that Washington fans who booed their favorite team's 9-7 win Sunday over the Rams were, among other things, "dim wits."

For the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University: Boxing analyst Max Kellerman, who in interviewing Floyd Mayweather last weekend after Mayweather beat Juan Miguel Marquez, lost control of his microphone and ego.

For Galco Gunleather, the maker of Don Johnson's shoulder holster on Miami Vice: Plaxico Burress, who reported to prison Thursday on a weapons conviction after an unlicensed handgun tucked in his waistband slipped down his leg and fired into his right thigh in a New York nightclub.

For eHarmony: San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman, who was arrested on an accusation that he choked and manhandled girlfriend Tila Tequila, a MTV reality show persona and near-porn star whose real last name is Nguyen.

For Crock-Pot: Boston Red Sox reliever Jonathan Papelbon, who earlier this month was fined yet again for slowing down a game with his deliberations on the mound.

For Party City, the party supply store: French Grandmaster Vladislav Tkachiev, who arrived for a match in India earlier this month in such an inebriated state that he could hardly sit in his chair and soon fell asleep.

For CareerBuilder.com: Jeff Jagodzinski, who dared leave his head coaching job last season at Boston College after two years for an offensive coordinator's position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who fired him before this season began.

For Mister Microphone: Floyd Mayweather, who hastened Max Kellerman's meltdown by grabbing the microphone from Kellerman and announcing, "I'm going to do the talking 'cause you do too much talking."

For ADT Security: 71-year-old Australian swimming great Dawn Fraser, who last month fought off an intruder at her home by grabbing him "by the ear and ... [kicking] him in the groin."

For the 10th anniversary this year of My Left Foot starring Daniel Day Lewis: Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, who said this week he is encouraged by his progress from a second surgery to repair his left foot but probably won't play this season.

For The Etiquette School of New York: Roger Federer, who was overheard during a changeover in the U.S. Open Final telling the referee he didn't give a "$%&*" what his opponent said.

For Bobbleheads.com: Mets All-Star third baseman David Wright, who took briefly to wearing an oversized batting helmet after suffering yet another concussion from a beaning.

For DesignatedDriver.com: Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane, who was arrested last month in Buffalo, N.Y., on a charge of robbing a cab driver in a dispute over the fare following a night on Chippewa Street, an area in Buffalo known for its nightclubs.

For the National Mediation Board: Florida coach Urban Meyer and Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin, who this week for the second time since last year had to be told by Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive to knock off their public sniping.

For PhRMA, the pharmaceutical lobby: the list is too long.

Controversy Pays: Flip Out and Cash In originally appeared on Kevin Blackistone FanHouse on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Serena's Outburst a Reflection of Society

Kevin Blackistone — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:25:00 EST

Filed under: Tennis

We've witnessed self-proclaimed concerned Americans drown out public debates over healthcare reform with vitriol. We saw a member of Congress heckle the president during an address by the commander-in-chief in the well of the House.

And shortly after Serena Williams belittled a tennis lineswoman in an embarrassing tirade, and then struggled mightily to muster the courtesy of an apology, a music producer extraordinaire selfishly and embarrassingly rained on an honoree's nationally televised parade with his uncontainable ego.

Incivility. It's the new black. Everyone's bearing it: Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), rap mogul Kanye West -- again -- and the world's best women's tennis player.

More: Blackistone Debates Questions of Civility on Radio (Listen)
Mariotti: Serena's Legacy Damaged | Couch: McEnroe's Defense Out of Bounds

Who knows when this all started, but it wasn't yesterday. The former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton said such nasty things about Vice President Aaron Burr in 1804 that Burr challenged him to a duel that turned out fatal for Hamilton.

But I do know one thing for certain: opprobrious behavior has all but been celebrated in recent years. It's even found a new home in which to thrive like some organic poison. It's called the Internet. Just read the profane posts on cyberspace message boards from the cowardly and ignorant suddenly emboldened with a cape of anonymity, and a quick exit into ether, provided by the World Wide Web.

This isn't to excuse Serena's conduct as a product of these coarse times. It is to point out that she is, unfortunately, a reflection of it.

Serena just couldn't hide her extreme displeasure in heading towards her U.S. Open semifinal loss Saturday against Kim Clijsters. She played poorly from start, angrily breaking a racket, and Clijsters capitalized on her every mistake. She was a step away from having Clijsters complete a well-deserved beating of her when she took exception to a lineswoman's call of stepping over the line on her serve. It was insult on top of insult. There was no place to go except to the locker room and she didn't get there fast enough. She exploded before everyone's eyes.Sportsmanship is how you react to adversity and defeat. Serena demonstrated none.

Sportsmanship is how you react to adversity and defeat. Serena demonstrated none. She ranted; she raged. She turned back and did it some more until she was penalized for unnecessary boorishness which nailed her defeat to the wall.

On Sunday, Serena was fined the maximum of $10,000 for her unsportsmanlike and unseemly behavior and there was a report that tennis officials would consider further sanctions against her like a possible suspension.

Just like Rep. Joe Wilson, who yelled out at the President, Serena is without defense. Whatever else befalls her in this incident is of her own doing. Wilson's peers are discussing citing him in some way, maybe with censure, for violating House rules that prohibit members from impugning the integrity of the president while speaking in committee or on the floor.

The people who ultimately decide what more is to be done with Serena may want to consider history before rendering any further penalty. After all, it isn't as if tennis hasn't seen such violently emotional outbursts on its courts under the brightest of lights before. The biggest difference this time seems to be the person who erupted; it was a she and not a he.

Is there any question that as a society we've ascribed a role to the second sex, as Simone de Beauvoir famously tagged women, that we haven't stuck on men, and that even in 2009 some among us still cling to it? It's the one that says women should be mild and meek. (I won't even get into the one that says women can't be trusted with too important a position because they are more prone to react with emotion, because that would force me to recall President George W. Bush's quote explaining the need to wage war against Iraq: "After all, this is the guy [then Iraqi despot Saddam Hussein] who tried to kill my dad.")

I don't think Serena's boorish behavior would be as transcendent an item if she was Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal or Andy Roddick. (That was Federer on Monday night, in being upset by Juan Martin del Potro in the U.S. Open men's final, who was overheard cursing to the chair umpire during a break.) Indeed, some of our most beloved tennis idols in years past in the men's draw were as well-known for their hotheadedness as for their brilliance as players. Most notable, of course, were Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe.

McEnroe's handlers even manipulated his infamous anger management problems on the court into a post-playing career cash cow. He's been awarded commercials were he plays on his old bad boy infamy. There is reward in our capitalist society for bad behavior with men. The fiery basketball coach Bob Knight has pulled in the dough playing on the worst of his character in a movie called Anger Management. Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy got a raise after he verbally lashed a female columnist. Maybe Serena will be afforded the same moneymaking opportunities off her uncontainable fighting spirit when her fabulous career is over.

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Serena Williams Photos

Serena Williams, of the United States, speaks during a press conference following her victory with her sister Venus, right, in the women's doubles finals championship at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Serena Williams Snapshots

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 14: Vicki Palmer, Nicole Ari Parker, Serena Williams, Avis Richards and Boris Kodjoe attend Cocktails with a Cause benefitting Sophie's Voice Foundation at the Hearst Tower on September 14, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Shawn Ehlers/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Vicki Palmer;Nicole Ari Parker;Serena Williams;Avis Richards;Boris Kodjoe

Getty Images

Serena Williams, right, congratulates Venus Williams during their doubles finals match against Cara Black, of Zimbabwe, and Liezel Huber, of the United States, in the U.S. Open on Monday, September 14, 2009, at Arthur Ash Stadium in the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York. (Ed Betz/Newsday/MCT)

MCT

Serena Williams, left, of the United States, and her sister Venus examine the championship trophy after winning the women's doubles championship over Cara Black, of Zimbabwe, and Liezel Huber, of the United States, at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Serena Williams, of the United States, speaks during a press conference following her victory with her sister, Venus, in the women's doubles finals championship at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 14: Venus Williams (R) and Serena Williams look at the replay of a disputed call during the Women's Doubles final against Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Liezel Huber on day fifteen of the 2009 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 14, 2009 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Williams/Williams defeated Black/Huber 6-2, 6-2. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Serena Williams;Venus Williams

Getty Images

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 14: (L-R) Liezel Huber, Cara Black of Zimbabwe, USTA President Lucy S. Garvin, Serena Williams and Venus Williams pose with the trophies after the Women's Doubles final on day fifteen of the 2009 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 14, 2009 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Williams/Williams defeated Black/Huber 6-2, 6-2. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Serena Williams;Venus Williams;Cara Black;Liezel Huber;Lucy S. Garvin

Getty Images

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 14: (L-R) Liezel Huber, Cara Black of Zimbabwe, Serena Williams and Venus Williams pose with their trophies after the Women's Doubles final on day fifteen of the 2009 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 14, 2009 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Williams/Williams defeated Black/Huber 6-2, 6-2. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Serena Williams;Venus Williams;Cara Black;Liezel Huber

Getty Images

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 14: Venus Williams (R) and Serena Williams celebrate after defeating Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Liezel Huber in the Women's Doubles final on day fifteen of the 2009 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 14, 2009 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Williams/Williams defeated Black/Huber 6-2, 6-2. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Serena Williams;Venus Williams

Getty Images

Calling the Williams-Clijsters match from the TV booth on Saturday night, McEnroe even expressed some discomfort in criticizing Serena for behaving as badly as he once did, maybe even outdoing him. (I don't recall McEnroe appearing to brandish his racket during a tirade.) McEnroe sounded as if he felt he'd have to recuse himself from the discussion.

But who knew better than he did? At the 1990 Australian Open, he swore at the umpire, a supervisor and a referee. He was warned by the umpire for intimidating a lineswoman (does that sound familiar?) and was subsequently docked a point for (or how familiar does this sound?) smashing a racket. It was all in violation of the Code of Conduct that was introduced just before the tournament and meant that a third violation resulted in immediate disqualification. McEnroe's berating of the umpire was the third strike and he was out.

"Dick and Mary, what do you want to know?" McEnroe asked his broadcasting teammates, Dick Enberg and Mary Carillo. "I feel like I'm on the hot seat now ... I can't defend the indefensible."

Serena couldn't either. Nobody should be able to. But we've been letting too many run and hide from this sort of thing for a long time.

Serena's Outburst a Reflection of Society originally appeared on Kevin Blackistone FanHouse on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tennis Hooligans Ruining the Sport

Kevin Blackistone — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:18:00 EST

Filed under: Tennis

There is no truth to the rumor that Senator-turned-peacemaker George Mitchell chose President Obama's plea to take a stab at solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Middle East over men's tennis president Adam Helfant's plea to soothe the Bosnian-Serbian conflict that now engulfs the world of tennis.

But maybe Helfant should've inquired.

We've become accustomed to European soccer attracting hooligans and, even worse, racist and fascist thugs. But what happened Friday at the Austrailian Open after Novak Djokovic of Serbia beat Bosnian-born American Amer Delic was new, what with those same sickening miscreants unleashing their hate at a tennis venue.

Helfant, who is only a few weeks newer to his job than Obama, shouldn't waited to stamp out this unwanted development. Friday was the second such incident in Melbourne, Austrailia. Hopefully Helfant's years as an NHL executive won't color his action.

The best thing soccer has done over the years to curb this despicableness is to ban these people from its events. Tennis needs to do the same with all the athletes from the Balkans in its ranks who undoubtedly will attract their violent countrymen.

Tennis Hooligans Ruining the Sport originally appeared on Kevin Blackistone FanHouse on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:18:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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