Recently Serena Williams was named the “Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year.” Williams, a record-breaking tennis player, is the first woman to receive the honor in 30 years. Of course, the world wouldn’t just let Williams enjoy this honor. Like much of her career, the honor came with a bandwagon of controversy.
Williams is always under scrutiny by the media and this year was no different. The criticism following William’s nomination is the fact that she wasn’t necessarily the first choice. In fact, out of the 11 athletes up for nominations, Williams was actually 10th in the polls.
So who was the first?
It turns out that Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, a horse, was in the lead yet again. Twitter had a field day about the upset and could not seem to understand why American Pharoah did not win. God forbid that a black woman be named sportsperson of the year before a horse. (We will save that one for another conversation.)
To add insult to injury, Williams’ Sports Illustrated cover caused even more controversy. The cover (above) shows Williams sitting on a throne wearing a black lace outfit with one leg propped up on the armrest.
The first thing that people seemed to notice was that her thighs, known for their thickness, seemed airbrushed. Others simply complained about the way that Williams appeared on the cover. Chicago Times writer Rick Morrissey wrote that she looks, “like she wants one thing…” He went on to say, “The image in no way helps the cause of women looking to be recognized for their athletic abilities.”
The controversy surrounding Williams is simply due to who she is. Unfortunately, Williams is always criticized in the media for what she wears and how she looks, among other things. The media’s critical eye of her says a lot about our society. When Caitlyn Jenner can be named Woman of the Year without anyone batting an eye and Serena Williams is supposed to lose to a horse, not even the jockey, we must take a minute to look at what kind of picture we are painting for others.
Maybe the problem isn’t Serena Williams or her cover of Sports Illustrated. Maybe the problem lies in the hearts of the American people. After all, how you can you really justify why a race horse should ever beat out anyone for Sportsperson of the Year?
