Despite Her Accomplishments, Serena Williams Still Faces Hardships

Serena Williams is competing at the U.S. Open and is two matches away from winning a calendar slam and her 22 grand slam overall.  The last player to win a calendar slam was Steffi Graf who did it back in 1988.  While Serena Williams has been dominating her opponents even not playing her best, she still faces some prejudice.  Why?  Her skin color.

Earlier this summer at the ESPY’s award, she lost the Best Female Athlete Award to Ronda Rousey, a mixed martial artist.  Taking nothing away from Rousey, Williams’ resume is filled with trophies, athleticism and struggles.  Many feel that despite her accomplishments, if Serena Williams was white, her star power would be much bigger.

Image: Boss Tweed

Stephen A Smith, who is the co-host for “ESPN First Take,” feels this is more of a sexism issue.  Maria Sharapova, who is an accomplished tennis player makes $10 million more than Williams in endorsements despite not winning as many titles.

Smith said, “In any category. when it comes to women’s tennis, whether it be on the marketing side or beyond, and the fact that she is second to Maria Sharapova, the fact that people say the things that they have said about her, that they seem to go out of their way to bring attention to things other than the performance, it ain’t just about race. It’s about sex as well, meaning gender, OK? There’s more sexism than it is anything else.”

You can see the full article here at Breitbart.com.