by Dr. Boyce Watkins
Professor Billy Hawkins of The University of Georgia has released a controversial new book that describes the experiences of NCAA athletes by comparing them to slaves on a plantation. According to the research of professor Hawkins, black athletes are exploited by the NCAA physically, financially and intellectually.
Hawkins cites the massive revenue earned by the NCAA via March Madness, which includes a 14-year, $10.8 billion contract with CBS sports. In spite of seemingly unlimited revenues to encourage athletes to stay focused academically, Hawkins notes that nearly one-fifth of the 64 teams participating in the NCAA tournament had graduation rates of less than 40 percent. Across the 36 sports monitored by the NCAA, men’s basketball has the lowest graduation rates, where less than two-thirds of the players earn degrees.
The dismal graduation numbers for the NCAA support Dr. Hawkins’ research, in which he argues and shows that black athletes at predominantly white institutions are being exploited while being neglected academically. In his book, "The New Plantation," the well-respected Professor of Sport Management and Policy uses a plantation model to present the black male athletic experience as part of a broader historical context.
Serena Wins Another One
February 1, 2010
Jan. 31 (Bloomberg) — Serena Williams, surrounded by Grand Slam tennis title record holder Margaret Court and mentor Billie Jean King, made a bit of her own history yesterday with her fifth Australian Open title.
The defending champion beat Justine Henin in three sets at Melbourne Park to gain her 12th major in all, tying fellow American King in sixth place on the career list headed by Court’s 24 championships.
“I feel really special that I was able to tie Billie Jean King,” Williams told reporters. “Because in my heart of hearts, I’ve been going for it and I haven’t been able to quite achieve it. Billie Jean is a really big mentor of mine.”
King and Evonne Goologong Cawley were among the former champions at Rod Laver Arena to mark the 40th anniversary of Court’s Australian Open victory, which was the first step of a Grand Slam sweep in 1970. Williams, who was presented the trophy by the 67-year-old Australian, is now one title ahead of Court, Goologong Cawley, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles for the most Australian Open titles since professionals were first allowed to enter in 1969.
After catching King, who came into the locker room to wish her luck before her 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 win over the unranked Henin, Williams’s next two targets on the Grand Slam title-leading list are Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova with 18 majors.
“I still think that when she plays her best, she’s the best ever,” King, 66, told reporters about Williams at Melbourne Park.
Dr. Boyce Watkins: The Politics of Attitude: Black Women on Trial
October 20, 2009
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University, AOL Black Voices, MSNBC’s TheGrio.com
Serena Williams has been listed as a headliner for this year’s Australian Open. The problem is that it’s not clear whether she’ll be allowed to play.
Because of a recent outburst in which she threatened a line judge, Williams may be banned from at least one Grand Slam tournament. According to published reports, Williams told the judge, "You don’t know me. You better be right. I swear to God I’m going to take this ball and shove it down your throat."Given that a ball going down your throat might actually kill you, the judge felt that Serena had threatened her life. Then again, Serena’s from Compton, a town that has become famous for finding creative ways to kill people. Serena does not, however, need to take "the hood" with her all the way to Australia.
To make matters more interesting, Serena recently got naked for the cover of ESPN magazine, certifying her status as an iconic and thought-provoking figure for the early 21st century. These two events, plus the fact that she just happens to be one of the most dominant female tennis players in history, makes her the kind of woman we’ll all be talking about for the next 100 years. Our great-grandkids won’t be talking much about the boring apolitical figure called Michael Jordan. We’ll congratulate Tiger Woods for being the first incredibly rich black man to consistently beat the crap out of the arrogant guys at the country club. Serena Williams’ name, though, will come up in classes on feminist theory, history and sociology. Like Muhammad Ali, Serena is becoming bigger than her sport, and my greatest hope is that her ability to transcend tennis is guided by a desire to serve all humanity, and not just herself. Her nude body on the cover of ESPN is her way of yelling to the world that she is more than a tennis player. I agree that she is.
If the link doesn’t work, click here.
Semenya’s Story Gets More Interesting
September 19, 2009
Caster Semenya‘s gender fiasco manages to get worse. E-mail correspondence found by the South African newspaper Mail & Guardian shows that her team doctor Harold Adams and athletics boss Leonard Chuene did indeed know that Semenya was tested in South Africa before the World Championships in Berlin but kept Semenya in the race even after they found out that her test results were "not good."
Semenya crossed the 800-meter finish line a full minute before her competitors. Her time, coupled with her supposed virile looks, prompted championship officials to order a gender test.
Dr. Wilmer Leon: Serena Needs to Learn to Play by the Rules
September 15, 2009
By
This past Saturday evening, on a second serve at 15-30, 5-6 in the second set at the U.S. Open semifinals, Serena Williams was called for a foot fault by the line judge. Based upon the judges call, Ms. Williams walked towards the judge, pointed her racquet at the judge and launched into an “f-bomb” laden tie raid saying in part, “If I could, I would take this @#$#ing ball and shove it down your @#$#ing throat…"
This exchange resulted in Ms. Williams being penalized a point for unsportsmanlike conduct. This penalty resulted in the match being awarded to her opponent, Kim Clijsters. Some are now questioning the chair umpire and tournament referee Brian Earley’s decision. With Ms. Williams being African American, many are crying foul based on race. Others are objecting to what some believe to be a ticky-tack call, especially at such a key point in a match.
Did Serena Really Threaten to Kill the Lines Judge?
September 13, 2009
Rain gave way to bedlam tonight at the U.S. Open.
Defending champion Serena Williams was charged with a point penalty on match point after yelling at a line judge for a calling a foot fault on her previous serve. The ruling gave Kim Clijsters a 6-4, 7-5 victory in their semifinal match, which had been delayed 32 hours because of rain.
After the line judge called the foot fault with Serena serving at 5-6, 15-30 in the second set, the youngest Williams sister intimidatingly stared her down beforescreaming at the official with a jabbed finger. After a few seconds, Serena turned back around to serve, thought better of it and resumed the badgering. The chair umpire then called over the line judge to ask what Serena had said, rules officials were summoned, a brief summit occurred at the net and it was determined that Serena would be assessed a point penalty for a conduct violation. The point gave Clijsters the match.
The initial foot fault that began the fireworks was a terrible call. It was unconscionable. It cannot be made at the end of any match, let alone in the semifinals of the U.S. Open. This isn’t because a foot fault is a ridiculous call at that juncture (even though it is). It’s because it wasn’t a foot fault. The replays show that Serena’s foot was behind the line when she served. You could make the argument that it was close but not close enough to make the call.
News: What’s Wrong with the American Relay Teams?
August 23, 2009
Try as they might, the Americans just can’t seem to get that baton around the track in the 400-meter relay without some sort of misadventure.
First the men were disqualified at the world championships for making an exchange outside the allowable zone. Then the women didn’t finish after Muna Lee pulled up with a hamstring injury.
It was shades of Beijing all over again, when the two relay teams dropped the stick at the Olympics.
"We’re not panicking," said Doug Logan, the CEO of USA Track and Field. "To lose on something technical rather than on a speed basis is disappointing. We’re going back to the drawing board and teach the rules of the relays better and practice better."
That’s been attempted before.
In the aftermath of Beijing, Logan and his staff did a comprehensive study looking into what went wrong with the 400 relay teams after the baton clanged to the track not once, but twice. They established new rules and protocols.
Then this happened.
Your Black Sports: Somalia’s Runner Inspires the World
August 24, 2008
Samia Yusuf Omar headed back to Somalia Sunday, returning to the small two-room house in Mogadishu shared by seven family members. Her mother lives there, selling fruits and vegetables. Her father is buried there, the victim of a wayward artillery shell that hit their home and also killed Samia’s aunt and uncle.
This is the Olympic story we never heard.
It’s about a girl whose Beijing moment lasted a mere 32 seconds – the slowest 200-meter dash time out of the 46 women who competed in the event. Thirty-two seconds that almost nobody saw but that she carries home with her, swelled with joy and wonderment. Back to a decades-long civil war that has flattened much of her city. Back to an Olympic program with few Olympians and no facilities. Back to meals of flat bread, wheat porridge and tap water.
“I have my pride,” she said through a translator before leaving China. “This is the highest thing any athlete can hope for. It has been a very happy experience for me. I am proud to bring the Somali flag to fly with all of these countries, and to stand with the best athletes in the world.”
Your Black Sports: US Relays Finally Get Golds
August 23, 2008
Sanya Richards needed a furious comeback. Jeremy Wariner could have walked to the finish.
The results were the same, though.
No dropped batons.
And gold medals. Finally.
In a pair of results that helped salvage the U.S. track and field team’s Olympics, Wariner, Richards and Allyson Felix led an American sweep of the 4×400-meter relays Saturday, an event that seems almost designed to bolster the U.S. team’s gold-medal count.
Richards anchored her team to a come-from-behind victory in 3 minutes, 18.54 seconds, the world’s fastest time since 1993. It was the fourth consecutive Olympic win for the USA in the women’s 4×400.
Wariner crossed the line 12 strides ahead of Christopher Brown of the Bahamas, finishing in 2:55.39 to break the Olympic record by 0.35 second.
The women’s race was hardly a breeze — unless you count that huge sigh of relief that came from the U.S. foursome.
In the final leg, Richards trailed Russia’s Anastasia Kapachinskaya for more than 300 meters, with no signs of closing the gap. But down the stretch, Richards finally took over — something she couldn’t do in her bronze-medal performance in the 400 on Tuesday — for the 0.28-second victory.
When she crossed the line, she threw out her right fist — baton tightly clenched inside of it, knowing a gold medal would soon be hung around her neck. The team huddled and cried. Tears of joy this time instead of disappointment.
There was no such drama in the men’s race, which featured two gold-medal winners — LaShawn Merritt, who upset Wariner in the 400, and Angelo Taylor, the 400 hurdles winner. Merritt put America in the lead early, Taylor widened the gap, David Neville held it and Wariner romped to the finish.
Your Black World: NCAA v. Fantasy Football and CBS Sports
August 13, 2008
by Marc Isenberg
NFL fantasy has been a big deal for several years. But college football fantasy has lagged, not because there isn’t any interest, but because fantasy sports is seemingly at odds with NCAA bylaws covering both gambling and marketing. While the NFL and many other pro leagues partnered with sites offering fantasy sports, the NCAA has steered clear.
(Warning: In order to sound slightly intelligent on this weighty legal matter, I consulted a top expert with extensive knowledge of sports and entertainment law. Not just any lawyer…my wife, Debbie, who provided the verbiage in the following paragraph.)
In June the Supreme Court refused to review the 8th Circuit’s holding in CDM Fantasy Sports Corp. v. Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) that the First Amendment rights of a fantasy league operator to publish news and statistics outweigh MLBAM and players’ state law rights of publicity to their names.
Back to plain English after the jump.
Continue reading “CBS to NCAA: Uh, we’re in business to make money” »
YourBlackPolitics: Black Men, Black Sports, Black in America
August 1, 2008
Interview with Award-Winning Sportswriter, Dave Zirin, by Tolu Olorunda.
Dave Zirin is an accomplished sports-writer and author. He has written several books including, “What’s My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States,” and “Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports,” and “The Muhammad Ali Handbook.” He is a frequent columnist for The Huffington Post, The Nation Magazine, SI.com, SLAM, and the Los Angeles Times. He also runs the weblog, “Edge Of Sports.” Zirin makes regular appearances on Sports-radio shows and political talk-shows, to further his gospel of outlining the chemically imbalanced relationship between Sports and Politics. Dave Zirin has been called “America’s Best Sports Writer” by Lee Ballinger of Rock & Rap Confidential. He was also described by Chuck D of Public Enemy, as a “rare breed.” Dave Zirin is alongside many other things, an activist and a staunch opposer to the death penalty. He has an upcoming book, entitled “A People’s History of Sports in the United States: 250 Years of Politics, Protest, People, and Play.” He is a brilliant, concise and gifted columnist, with a passion to recover the lost art of edifying sports coverage. I was blessed with the opportunity to speak with Dave on issues of race, class and tribalism, in the realm of professional Sports:
Thanks for joining us, Mr. Zirin; it is indeed an honor and a pleasure. Can you start by informing us of your literary background, and your journey toward becoming – as described – “America’s best Sportswriter”?
That’s very kind of you. Well, I’m a sportswriter by trade; I worked for a couple of very small-town newspapers in the state of Maryland, after a period as a public school teacher in Washington, DC. One of the newspapers I worked at is the only African American-owned Newspaper in Prince George’s County — which is a majority African American County; it was – and is still – called “Prince George’s Post.” My boss there gave me a lot of freedom to write the kind of sports column that I wanted to write, which was one that delved into issues of the politics of sports. So I owe that a great depth, because it allowed me to try to discover my voice, tone and how I wanted to communicated my ideas. And I wanted to communicate the ideas of political resistance through sports, as well as the idea that we could love sports, while still practicing the art of political resistance. And that was very encouraging, specifically because it was an African American-owned Newspaper that dealt with the issues in sports that affected the Black community. And that allowed me to explore a different layer of politics as well. And like many writers, I owe a debt to the internet, because I was able to then post the articles online and find the readership which I’m very grateful for; because otherwise, the sports writing racket is very difficult to break through, because there are very few jobs in the mainstream press who feature this kind of work.
Now, a lot of people first got in contact with your brilliance, wit and intelligence, after “What’s My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States.” Can you speak on the significance of Muhammad Ali in the political as well as athletical stadium of this country and even the world at large?
Well, Muhammad Ali has of course been a premium inspiration to me, because I write about the coalition of sports and politics, and to me, there is no more bold and contradictory expression of that, than the heyday of Muhammad Ali. I mean in the 1960s, you had the heavyweight champion of the world, with one foot in the Black freedom struggle and one foot in the anti-war movement. He became the most famous athlete in the world, and the most famous draft-resister in the history of the United States; I mean, this is profound, and what I enjoy exploring is how people reacted to him at the time, because we’ve so sanctified Muhammad Ali in the years since — sort of the way we’ve made Dr. King a Saint. We’ve put people like Malcolm X and Paul Robeson on postage stamps, and what we do in that case, is extract their political teeth; and we forget what it is that made them so bold, so dangerous and even so hated back in the day. And Ali is somebody who of course is still alive, but he’s lost his voice, through Parkinson’s Disease, and I like exploring that period of the ’60s, because Ali was somebody who just, very brilliantly, walked with the rhythm of the different struggles; and this is why you have Ali as such a Giant in the ’60s, but much less of a political force in the ’70s and ’80s — because he really did rise and fall with the rhythm of the moment. But then again, that is something that is fascinating about Muhammad Ali; because he wasn’t just shaped by the 1960s, he also shaped that era. He was a “shaper.”
You’re most noted for decoding the science behind the intertwining of sports and politics in our culture. Can you elaborate on that?
Well, I think it so important, and we might not like it, but it is just the fact that more people watch ESPN than C-SPAN. And more people listen to Sports-Radio than listen to NPR. And if we recognize this as a fact, then we have to ask ourselves this question: Are people just wasting their time by looking at sports, or is there something of value in sports, that’s worth relating to and understanding? I think there are two very important reasons why we shouldn’t be dismissive towards Sports fans. Firstly, because I think Sports is beautiful, Sports is Art and Sports is Human expression, and a lot of people are attracted to it for these kinds of very elemental reasons. But the second reason is that I think often times, you have some very dynamic, very interesting important political discussions in the world of sports, and I think sometimes, you have a more honest discussion about racism – when people are arguing about Barry Bonds, and if Michael Vick deserves a second chance – through these shadow-issues, than in regular political talk radio or political discussion. I also think we’re taught so much in this country that Politics is just what happens on Capitol Hill; yet Politics are in the air we breathe, the food we eat and the Sports we play.
You’ve written extensively on athletic activism: Going from Jackie Robinson, to Muhammad Ali, to Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics, to early Michael Jordan, and many others. Can you speak more to that effect?
Well, I’m a big believer in the James Baldwin quote, where he once said that “America is the country devoted to the death of paradox,” — in that America often tries to put people in a little box. So, if you’re an athlete, that’s all you get to be; if you’re a teacher, that’s all you get to be; if you shovel ice-cream for a living, that’s all you get to do. And athletic activists are transgressing that, and they’re willing to say, ‘NO, I’m not just a body, I’m also a brain;’ ‘I’m not just an entertainer; I have something to say, and the right to say it.’ Far too many athletes feel like they’ve signed away their right to speak and to have political ideas — whenever they sign that contract.
You had an article earlier this year, in which you berated the inability of Tiger Woods to speak out eloquently against the racially-inflaming remarks of the Golf channel pundit who made the “lynching” remark. Do you think there are corporate forces that muffle the political voices of big-name athletes; and can you dissect that phenomenon — especially in light of the upcoming Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, and reports of crackdowns on protests?
I think you asked a very interesting question. I think for most athletes, there is certainly a corporate muzzle, a muzzle of the media and a muzzle of team-ownership. But when an athlete transgresses and speaks their mind, there’s always the ability to be as bland and homogenized as can be — so that muzzle does exist. But with respect to Tiger Woods, he’s part of a very select group of athletes, who actually have power within the corporations that sponsor them, and if he wanted to say something against what Kelly Tilghman of the Golf Channel said, or concerning any injustice in the world, his corporate sponsors like Nike would be lining up to applaud him, and that’s because of the powers he has, and there are very few athletes with that individual power. And with Tiger Woods, he often uses the language and symbolism of the Civil Rights movement in his ads, and if he does that, people have a right to demand responsibility from him, to step up to the plate and be part of that tradition.
How do you perceive the WNBA, and do you value it as a sincere and substantive attempt at athleticism?
I certainly do, and I always tell people that the WNBA can’t be judged by the same standards of the NBA; it’s a different kind of sport that’s run a different way. It is played much differently than in the NBA, and people who are more interested in the heart of team-basketball will find that the WNBA is equal to the NBA, but still remains a different kind of game. I do think it’s a sincere effort to reach a very under-reached demographic: Women sports fans. And through the WNBA, men can go to the games with their daughters now. I also think it has become a whipping post for many Sport writers who choose not to engage with it, because it’s such an easy target.
Did you watch the brawl last week, and what is your assessment of the remediations that followed?
Well, people got hurt in the brawl, and what it tells us more than anything, is that the games are very intense.
Dr. Boyce Watkins; Syracuse University Professor and NCAA Watchdog, as aggressively tackled the motion of the non-payment of athletes in the NCAA games — especially during the March Madness season. He believes that the NCAA is obligated to pay the players – or at least the parents – if they are willing to pay the coaches and the administration. What is your assessment of that philosophy, and do you share similar sentiments?
I do share that sentiment, because the players are producing wealth, and coaches get 6-figure contracts just for wearing the shoes, and the players run up-and-down the court like little billboards and some schools even put star players on special VISA cards — where you can use the card to get discounts on school merchandise. It’s an exploitative type of situation, and I also think that when players don’t get that fair share, something dynamically bad comes out of it: They go into the gutter. And that’s where you see players being offered money under the table, offered women and offered drugs. And part of that happens because it is an illegal economy. And it also has an eerie echo to slavery and the plantation — with the privileged slave being involved in sporting events, and offered women who we’re treated like objects. But in reality, they were still slaves.
Can you explain the “The Pain, Politics and Promise of Sports,” as highlighted in your highly-informative book, “Welcome To the Terrordome”?
Well, the “The Pain, Politics and Promise of Sports” – to me – is all rooted in what framed the book; and that was Hurricane Katrina. Because in Hurricane Katrina, you saw the Pain of Sports — as the only place the dispossessed residents were able to find shelter was in a publicly funded Dome. So money had been going for 30 years into the Louisiana Superdome, while there was no Emergency Shelter and no money for Emergency Evacuation; and so it speaks to the horrible priority that existed more broadly in that system over the last 30 years. It also speaks to the Politics of Sports, and you need to have a sort-of political approach to Sports, to see the interweaving of Hurricane Katrina, The Superdome and the aftermath. But there was also the Promise of Sports, with several professional athletes who made some statements that were far better than anything coming out of Capitol Hill, and among the best of athletes, you still see a kind of instinctive solidarity — which is very valuable and important. And it is that solidarity and platform which athletes have that I think they need to use.
Your next book, “A People’s History of Sports in the US” is due out in just a couple of months. Pls. give us an in-depth look as to what is covered and debated in it?
Yes; its part of Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History” theory, and it attempts to tell the history of sports in this country, from below — especially as it was shaped by political factors. So, it’s a way of understanding the creation of baseball, by first understanding the Civil War. It’s a way of understanding Jackie Robinson, by understanding African-American frustration after World War II. It’s a way of trying to understand Title 9, by understanding the Women’s Movement and Billy Jean King. So, it tries to look at the incredible dance that’s always existed between Sports and Politics, and exposes the hilarious lie, that Sports and Politics, somehow, don’t mix.
How can activists generate – or contribute to – the struggle for more courageous display of athletic activism?
That is a terrific question. I think that there are battles in our future. There are going to be battles about the public funding of stadiums, and whether college athletes should be paid, and whether Women will have equal access to Sports, and battles as to the role patriotism plays in Sports. So, it’s going to be very important for people to have a working understanding of the way Sports and Politics interact, and we can use the platform of Sports to speak on some of these issues, and reach a broader audience.
Lastly, just last week, a report came out that revealed how you and a few other anti-death activists were spied upon by the Maryland State Police. What is the next step in your fight to combat this ‘second coming’ of COINTELPRO?
We’re going on offense — to use a sports term. What they did is opposed across the political spectrum in Maryland, and people realize that when you’re doing something that is legal and constitutionally protected, they have no right to spy on you. They have no right to spy on you, set infiltrators or take your name down. It was an absolutely, utter, disgusting breach of police power, and we’re going to organize against it, and we wouldn’t be slowed-down one bit in organizing against the death penalty. And like they say about Civil Rights; either you use them or you lose them, and we’re prepared to use our constitutional rights.
Thanks for speaking with us, Dave Zirin.
Black Athletes: Candace Parker Throws Blows at WNBA Game
July 23, 2008
(AP)—Candace Parker wanted to focus on all of the good parts of the Los Angeles Sparks’ win over the Detroit Shock.
Unfortunately, it will be the final 5 seconds that everyone else is going to remember.
Parker was one of three players ejected along with Detroit assistant coach Rick Mahorn after an ugly scuffle with 4.6 seconds left in Los Angeles’ 84-81 victory.
“To be honest, I don’t recall exactly what happened,” said Parker, who led Los Angeles with 21 points. “I’ll have to watch the tape.”
The skirmish started moments after Parker and Detroit’s Cheryl Ford had to be separated after Ford fouled Parker.
On the next possession, Parker got tangled up with Detroit’s Plenette Pierson and fell to the ground. As she was getting up, Pierson intentionally ran into her, setting off the melee.
Parker threw a punch at Pierson before being tackled by Detroit’s Deanna Nolan. Players and coaches from both teams joined in, and Mahorn knocked Lisa Leslie to the court at one point.
“I was trying to protect the whole game, the integrity of the game,” he said. “The WNBA is very special to me because I have four daughters. I don’t even raise my hand to them, and I would never push a woman. This game, I love this game too much.”
Mahorn was also involved in the 2004 Pistons-Pacers brawl while working as a Detroit broadcaster, going into the crowd to try to pull Ron Artest away from fans.
“Rick Mahorn is known as a peacemaker, from even the brawl we had here with Indiana,” Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer said. “He went out there to get people off the pile, and to get people to stop the confrontation. That’s who he is, that’s what he does.”
Leslie did not talk to the media, but Los Angeles coach Michael Cooper also said he felt Mahorn was trying to stop the fight…
Watch Video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Qy0oSz9ownQ
Venus Takes Down Serena
July 5, 2008
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — This time, big sister put little sister in her place.
Advantage, Miss Venus Williams.
She defeated Serena 7-5, 6-4 Saturday for her fifth Wimbledon title and second in a row. Venus avenged two previous losses to her younger sibling in the final at the All England Club and reasserted her dominance on her favorite court and favorite grass surface.
“I can’t believe that it’s five,” said Venus, who now also has seven Grand Slam championships. “But when you’re in the final against Serena Williams, five seems too far away.”
Venus came from 3-1 down in the first set to turn around the match, breaking Serena four times while dropping serve twice in a final that produced breathtaking tennis despite swirling wind.
This was more than a matchup between siblings; it was a contest between two of the hardest-hitting, most athletic players in the world at the top of their game.
Venus broke to finish the match in 1 hour, 51 minutes, with Serena hitting a backhand wide on the second match point. The sisters embraced at the net, and Venus kept her celebrations in check as she twirled and waved to the Centre Court crowd.
Venus accepted the winner’s trophy — a sterling silver salver aptly named the Venus Rosewater dish — from the Duke of Kent.
“It’s so rewarding to perform here,” Venus said. “Every time I come back I know I have the chance to play well and make history. My first job is big sister and I take that very seriously.”
Watching from the players’ box was the sisters’ mother, Oracene. Their father, Richard, had flown back to the United States because he can’t stand to watch his daughters play each other.
Referring to the mixed feelings of her family about whom to support, Venus said, “It’s hard for all of them, but I like to think they want me to win.”
The 26-year-old Serena accepted her runner-up trophy and paid tribute to her 28-year-old sister.
“I’m so happy that at least one of us was able to win,” Serena said. “She’s played great this year. We’re just glad to be in the finals again.”
On Sunday, five-time champion Roger Federer and two-time runner-up Rafael Nadal will meet in their third consecutive final at Wimbledon.
Venus is the 10th woman to win five Wimbledon singles titles, and only the third in the 40-year history of the Open era after Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf.
Black Athletes: Dr. Boyce Watkins and others Hit the state of the black athlete in America 
No Black Athletes to Follow Venus, Serena and Tiger: What’s Going On?
September 11, 2010
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University
Most of us can appreciate, on one level or another, the tremendous achievements of Tiger Woods, Venus Williams and her little sister, Serena. They have all been, in one way or another, a tremendous source of pride for the African American community. Much of the reason we are so proud of them is because they’ve dominated like no other in sports that are not typically played by "us." I am personally more impressed with the Williams sisters than with Tiger, in large part because they’ve made it into a family affair, and seem to more directly embrace the idea of making their success into a "black thing." Tiger, on the other hand, seems to want to make his success into a "Caublinasian thing." I admittedly can’t get with that.
Click to read.