14 Years A Slave

It has been 14 years since Serena Williams, the number one female tennis player in the world, played in the tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California which is approximately 50 miles east of Los Angeles, near Palm Springs.

In 2001, Serena and her sister, Venus received racial slurs and Serena was booed off the court as she was winning her championship round. It appeared that the fans who paid big money to see Serena and her sister Venus, in the finals were upset because their father Richard pulled Venus from the tournament due to injuries. The fans ridiculed Serena for the color of her skin, as well as called her names that referenced animals as well as body parts and illegal female professions.

The story goes that as Serena was defeating Kim Clijsters on the main court that seated 16,100 screaming and jeering fans, the negative noise and vibe was so great that she started to cry during the match but the fans would not let up. After her victory, she left the court, went to the locker room, sat down and sobbed. She was 19.

Fast forward 14 years to this past weekend and Serena is back in Indian Wells and while feeling rather overwhelmed, she is playing up to her standards and the fans are in approval. As we watched the Williams sisters grow and play tennis with their little white beads in their hair, one can't help but appreciate the classy women that they have become. Yes, there has been mama and daddy drama with much of it being fueled by others trying to separate Richard Williams, their father and coach, from his two prodigies who grew up playing tennis on the uneven courts of Compton, CA.

Serena has stated that her return is to "create new memories" and from the cheers, everyone is all in. The media, of course, has assembled in this small enclave in full force making comparisons to the race relations in Ferguson. After Serena's first service ace and point, which led to loud and uproarious approval, the media moved on to their next story.

What really eased the tension at this tournament was the amount of money all parties will be making. Nike took out a full page ad in the LA Times, TV rating soared, with many newspapers playing the subtle race cards pitting Serena against the crowd. But, as Bill Dwyre, a very respected reporter for the Los Angeles Times so eloquently stated, "when the leading lady says it's time to move on, then we should move on".

Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if all of America took a note from the encounter between Serena Williams and the tennis fans in Indian Wells when  it comes to race relations and stop listening to politicians and the media and just moved on?