Want to know why ESPN got an A- instead of an A?
ESPN’s minus comes from its commentators’ early proclamation that Venus would never, ever fake an injury or take an injury timeout in order to freeze her opponent. I was willing to let that slide, since Venus and Serena are different in their use of gamesmanship. Accusing a player of fabricating an injury is too controversial without proof (and I’m definitely not saying Venus did that).
But the commentators felt the need to take it even further – asserting that Serena had never, ever used an injuryas an excuse or played games with injury timeouts! Um, we must have been watching a different Serena for all these years… because Serena is often embroiled in exactly that kind of controversy – dubious injury timeouts, conveniently timed bathroom breaks, retiring when she’s losing, etc. etc. By the way, her use of these tactics decreases dramatically when she’s in shape and dedicated to tennis (and she is both of those now).
The way everyone in the booth jumped in to reassure the world that Venus and Serena were above reproach had nothing to do with reality and everything to do with access. ESPN needs/wants a compliant Williams family. They need interviews before, during and after matches. ESPN’s emphasis on access at the cost of reporting is what gets the network universally criticized in all its sports. Not unlike the mainstream news media, which decided that it’s preferable to get an interview with Dick Cheney where he can air his opinions unchallenged than it is to tell the truth.
Further reading: Andrew Sullivan Blasts Chris Wallace for Fawning Interview of Cheney (likening him to a teenager girl in love with the Jonas Brothers)
Passing Shots 
Posted on September 1, 2009
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