Are you serious?!?!

I'm sure by now you've seen the profanity laced tirade that Serena Williams delivered to the line judge who called a foot fault on her on her second serve during her match with Kim Clijsters. The verbal abuse led to a point penalty, which ended the match, giving Clijsters the win.

Who knows if Williams, down a set and pushing for a tiebreaker, would have won had she not been called for the foot fault. But I don't think that's the point.

I'm no tennis buff, but I don't think that foot faults in crucial match situations on a second serve are common. Especially when it doesn't seem to be an egregious foot fault, given the video evidence.

It doesn't matter. The way Serena Williams went off on the line judge is not the way a human being should treat another, regardless of the call made. This sets a terrible example for young people everywhere, and tarnishes the image that both Serena and Venus have strived to achieve. A stream of angry F-bombs by one of the most visible African-American tennis players in history probably isn't making the NAACP think of an award to give in her honor.

To further compound it, Serena Williams offers very little in the way of an apology. She cites her "passion" and "emotion" as reasons why she "handled the situation poorly." Passion and emotion make you celebrate a little classlessly. Passion and emotion make you tell the judge you disagree with him/her and maybe call them an idiot. Passion and emotion don't make you go ape shit on someone, think about it some more, and then go back for more, all when they are saying nothing.

Don't get me wrong, I think it was absolutely wrong of the line judge to make that call. I am on the side of the argument that sometimes judges and referees and umpires should abstain from making minor calls, given the particular situation of a competition. Let her get away with the foot fault, if the match goes on into the third set, then call it on her right away on a FIRST serve.

Some claim that arguing with the umpire is a part of the sport. Some point to John McEnroe's antics as proof of the acceptance of swearing and anger as part of the culture of tennis. I do agree that arguing is part of the sport. It's part of any sport that has a judge or ref. But swearing, throwing rackets, throwing tantrums, making threats, should be as much a part of tennis as beanballs in baseball and chop blocks in football.