Serena Williams heckled by racist spectator
This is from the London Daily Telegraph
Serena anger over spectator’s racist abuse
By Mark Hodgkinson in Miami
Last Updated: 2:44am BST 27/03/2007An emotional Serena Williams last night pleaded with the chair-umpire to have a spectator removed from the stands during her third-round win at the Sony Ericsson Open, with the African-American alleging that she had been racially abused by a man telling her to “hit the ball into the net like any negro would”.
Williams, a Florida resident who considers this Miami event to be her home tournament, was profoundly shocked at how she felt she had been treated by the spectator.
“What he was saying was racial. He said, ‘Hit the ball into the net like any negro would’. I was shocked. I couldn’t believe it. I had to do a double take. I think I hit a double-fault on that point. Who says these things outside of first grade? At a professional venue you don’t do that. I couldn’t believe he would stoop to that level,” Williams said.
“He was harassing me throughout the match, and I should have said something sooner. He was saying things he shouldn’t have and it was totally unethical. It was derogatory. Every time I missed a shot or a serve, he would say, ‘That’s the way to do it’. It was outrageous. I couldn’t believe what he said at first. It threw me off,” said Williams.
Apparently this sicko actually used the N word, but Serena did not quote his exact words during her news conference, according to this follow-up article. Zina Garrison told the Daily Telegraph she had also been subjected to racist abuse at times when she was playing tennis.
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