Citizen and Injustice in Sports

When reading Citizen by Claudia Rankine, I was thoroughly amazed with the power that Rankine brought to each short story. Her ability of demonstrating microaggressions in such a powerful way made each one of her stories more and more thought provoking, along with angering. However, the most interesting story she captured for me was about Serena Williams. After reading about her experiences as a pro tennis player, I could not help but go on a serious binge of various games and interviews of hers. What I found down this rabbithole was that each incident Rankine described, whether it was the “Crip walk” after a victory or how she “lost her shit” after a faulty call, was a blatantly racist portrayal. The media’s coverage was blown so far out of proportion that I often found myself checking to make sure that the minute thing I was watching Serena do was actually the scenario they were talking about. Serena holds herself with the same poise as any other tennis player, the difference is the media scrutinizes her much more than her other, predominantly white, opponents.
I had never really thought of race playing such a crucial role in sports before. I considered the current technology and spectatorship of sporting events made it hard for many calls to be made without at least at least being contested. What I found in Rankine’s story, specifically about tennis and Serena Williams, was pretty eye opening and has introduced to the unfortunate impact that someones race has on their ability to receive a fair game.