Was Media Out of Line with Serena Williams Drug Accusations During Wimbledon?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: July 19, 2014

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Three weeks after Serena Williams appeared dizzy and bewildered during a Wimbledon doubles match, speculation continues. 

Is it fair?

I was among the millions who watched in disbelief. How could you not? One of the greatest players of all time was struggling to catch a ball. A woman who has arguably the best serve in the history of the sport double-faulted a game away.

Like everyone else, I wanted an explanation. 

Wimbledon officials offered one. They issued a statement that said Williams suffered from a viral illness. That's where the speculation needed to end.

Instead, some people continued to question Williams' diagnosis. Martina Navratilova rejected the viral-illness explanation. She was quoted in numerous publications, including on ESPNW.com, as saying "I don't buy it.

"I think virus, whatever they're saying it was, I don't think that was it. I think it's clear that's not the case. I don't know what it is, but I hope Serena will be OK."

Outraged, fans took to Twitter and accused Navratilova of crossing the line. Navratilova defended her comments.





Last week, someone started a petition on Change.org demanding that ESPN's Pam Shriver and Chris Evert apologize for what some fans believed were accusations of drug use.

During the live broadcast, Shriver said: "It’s almost like she has taken something that makes her feel dizzy, disoriented, and she cannot reach up and strike the ball."

Evert even questioned Williams' intent. Business Insider ran quotes from Evert's post-match analysis: "Is it a virus? Is it something unintentional or intentional in her system that they may drug test for?"

Not all journalists felt the need to feed this narrative. In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, Ben Rotenberg, a contributing writer with the The ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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