Serena speaks - IF I were a Man...

[malaise]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/12/26/serena-williams-if-i-were-a-man-i-would-have-been-considered-the-greatest-a-long-time-ago/?utm_term=.1a67c42a7610
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At 35, Williams remains dominant in her sport, but she is increasingly aware that what remains of an athletic career that began when she was a child is approaching its end. Taking stock of the social and racial landscape, she’s assessing her place in it and as part of that, she knows just how different the debate about whether she is one of sports’ all-time greats might be if only .?..

“I think if I were a man, I would have been in that conversation a long time ago,” Williams said last week in an interview with rapper Common for ESPN’s “The Undefeated.”

“I think being a woman is just a whole new set of problems from society that you have to deal with, as well as being black, so it’s a lot to deal with — and especially lately. I’ve been able to speak up for women’s rights because I think that gets lost in color, or gets lost in cultures. Women make up so much of this world, and, yeah, if I were a man, I would have 100 percent been considered the greatest ever a long time ago.”

Male athletes, including LeBron James and Colin Kaepernick, have not been hesitant to speak up about violent events or during the election cycle, but, as a woman and an African American in a sport long dominated by white people, Williams has had to overcome a self-preserving instinct to suppress her opinions.

“It’s very challenging because sometimes when things are blatantly wrong and blatantly unfair and blatantly racist or sexist, I just have to go and put on a brave smile and not let anyone know how I feel on the inside so they don’t get that satisfaction even though on the inside I would be dying,” Williams said.

Along the way, Williams has, she says, come to “embrace” her appearance after being targeted by body shamers around the Internet.

[mcar]

1. She is correct

I'm not a huge tennis fan but there is no doubt that she is one of the greatest athletes of my lifetime.