Think Progress on why Williams is the most influential woman in sports this year. It isn’t just because she dominated on the court; it’s also because she makes us confront our own issues of idolization, race and gender.
With her, we’ve always had to take the great with the less-than, the woman who refused to conform with the person who, at times, needed to change. We’ve had to balance the intensely-focused competitor with the athlete who can seem aloof and disconnected. And we’ve had to ask ourselves whether we’re judging all of those qualities the same way we would if she looked like the tennis stars who came before her or was the same gender as the only tennis stars on her level now, while at the same time asking ourselves if we’re judging her the way we would were she not such an icon. It’s never simple with Serena, and perhaps that more than anything makes her more influential both on the court and off than any woman in sports.
http://tennis.si.com/2013/12/20/daily-bagel-serena-williams-boris-becker/
With her, we’ve always had to take the great with the less-than, the woman who refused to conform with the person who, at times, needed to change. We’ve had to balance the intensely-focused competitor with the athlete who can seem aloof and disconnected. And we’ve had to ask ourselves whether we’re judging all of those qualities the same way we would if she looked like the tennis stars who came before her or was the same gender as the only tennis stars on her level now, while at the same time asking ourselves if we’re judging her the way we would were she not such an icon. It’s never simple with Serena, and perhaps that more than anything makes her more influential both on the court and off than any woman in sports.
http://tennis.si.com/2013/12/20/daily-bagel-serena-williams-boris-becker/
