Fighting the Anger before it Explodes

In a recent scandal, Serena Williams lost her cool on the court due to receiving code violations during her match against Naomi Osaka. Serena Williams was fined $17,000 in fee violations during the match on Saturday. Osaka has been an inspiring fan of Williams since her childhood. This match was a dream come true for Osaka. During the first set, Osaka was making fewer mistakes than Williams, thus, with her skills Osaka won the first set. As the second set began, chair umpire Carlos Ramos called a code violation on Patrick Mouratoglou (Serena’s coach), as Ramos interpreted his hand movements as a type of coaching.

Serena explicitly stated she would never cheat during a match, she would rather lose than “cheat to win” (Waldstein). The second code violation was caused by racket abuse during the second match. Breaking a racket during a match is an automatic penalty in the rule book of Tennis. This violation led Williams to receive a point penalty. Allowing Osaka to earn an automatic point for the next game. At the start of the next match, Williams did not expect the score to be raised as she walked onto the court. She approached the chair once more, and argued with Ramos about the violations he gave her. Williams began to get frustrated and vocally made her frustrations known because she was still being accused of cheating.

This incident is causing others to see the reality of losing their cool during their own personal games. As a high school sport participant, I have seen firsthand, the consequences when a player loses their cool on the field. In a past game, I saw the most yellow cards handed out than I have ever seen in my whole soccer career. Players were constantly arguing with the referees and had unsportsmanlike conduct. Nethertheless, each individual sport has their own consequences for foul play and conduct.

Actions and words affect the type of penalty received. As a soccer player, I have gotten beyond frustrated on the field. A few times I have told the other team to watch their pushing and their words on the field. When they continue to harass my team on the field, my anger lashes out. It is disrespectful when another team constantly uses words to knock you down because they may not have the skill. During our game against Coshocton in 2017, a ball flew through the air and broke a girl’s nose on the other team. As a result, the tone for the game was frustration and disrespect. As the second half was coming to an end, I went down. I had tore my ACL. Frustration on the field has its consequences and injuries are one of them. I have learned from this frustration, and learning from this has caused me to know when I need to take a minute out of the game to calm myself down.

Now months later, I wish I would have taken a minute to cool myself down. I was in the heat of the moment. I was in game mode, once you get into game mode it is hard to get out of tunnel vision. It is a mindset people mentally have to work through, no one else can do it for them.

While talking to Lauren Montgomery, she told me what the consequences of disrupting another runner during a track meet. She said, “I was running and someone’s elbows went up and the officiate by us yelled at me for being obstructive.” Some would figure there are no consequences in Track & Field, but there are.

While talking to Coach Mr. Hatfield an assistant Football coach here at LV, I asked him what it was like to be on the sidelines during Friday night football games and how frustrating it can get. His response, “During games, I am up in the press box, so I am far enough removed from the action to freely vent about what is going on.” As a result, Mr. Hatfield is able to confidently express his frustrations without receiving the consequences of them.

During soccer practice the other day, I asked my teammates what they do in order to release stress on the field. Julia Schworm said she, “grabs her shorts at the bottom of them and bunches them together,” in order to squeeze the anger out. Morgan Meadows says she “clenches her fists,” to keep herself calm. During baseball some players may “pick up the dirt and flick it up,” said Emma Gossett. Lastly, Lauren Montgomery stated she simply just, “runs faster.” There are different ways to release anger out during a sporting event. Each person deals with their anger in a personal way.

It is easy to lose your cool on the field, and even harder to keep yourself together in the moment. The consequences can be harsh, and embarrassing. Every action has its consequence, in high school, consequences may not ruin who you are. Once the game hits the big leagues, money can be involved. Not only does it ruin reputations, it affects financial life too.

All in all, Serena Williams had the chance to make history during this match. She let her anger get the best of her, and brought a controversial topic to the table. Serena’s anger caused Osaka to regret her win, when she should have been able to cherish it. Having frustration during a sporting event can cause not only you to not enjoy it, but also the people that surround you. All wins should be celebrated without feeling guilty of the events that led up to that final win. An individual should not have to feel sorry for their skill taking the win on the field or court. Everyone has to start somewhere and when they finally get to their goal they should cherish it, not regret it. There is always someone that is going to be better than the last, there is always someone new on top. Not everyone is ready for the moment that they are no longer the one winning. Now, they have to deal with the fact that they are losing.

Works Cited

Chavez, Nicole. “Serena Williams Is Calling out Sexism in Tennis. Here's Why.” CNN, Cable News Network, 10 Sept. 2018

Waldstein, David. “Serena Williams vs. Naomi Osaka: How the U.S. Open Descended Into Chaos.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 Sept. 2018

Donchess, Kate. “Mr. Hatfield Interview .” 14 Sept. 2018.

Donchess, Kate. “Soccer Team Interview .” 18 Sept. 2018.

Donchess, Kate. “Lauren Montgomery .” 13 Sept. 2018.

Donchess, Kate. “Emma Gossett Interview .” 18 Sept. 2018.