Serena Williams Outburst Video: Foot Fault Transcript

The linesperson's foot fault call was NOT A BAD CALL. From the camera angle on the replays, there is no way to tell definitively. The camera angle is BEHIND THE LINE.Nonetheless as you watch, you CAN tell that when Serena rocked back on her heel on 2nd serve, she then turns her foot at a better angle toward the net and rocks forward on the balls of her foot, appearing to PLACE THE TOES OF HER FOOT ON THE BASELINE. Then her heel moves forward toward the net, and it then appears the whole left edge of her left foot is ON THE BASELINE as she jumps into her serve. This would then be foot fault (flagrant, or otherwise) worthy of the call at that point, or any other point in the match for that matter.Much has been made of the timing of the call, but the correct call of the foot fault at that juncture was just as critical to Kim Clijsters as it was to Serena Williams. Kim Clijsters should not be denied a fair play on receiving serve when she's up a few points close to match point any more than Serena should be allowed an advantage when she's down a few points on her service game close to conceding match point.Moreover, what an atrocious press conference from Serena: smug, arrogant, dismissive of her own behavior, and actually smirking while lying through her teeth. "I don't know why the line judge would feel threatened by me." C'mon!For those of us who haven't watched the video over and over again, I believe Serena said: "I swear to God! I will f***ing take this f***ing ball and shove it down your f***ing throat! [And then more of the same, apparently, with various ominous waves of the racket]The line judge is then called to the chair umpire and the line judge, while making motions around her throat, reiterate what Serena said.  Serena yells at line judge from base line while line judge confers with Chair Ump.  Chair ump calls out Brian Earley. Line judge attempts to return to her seat, but is called back to Chair Ump, but not before Serena attempts another tirade from the baseline at the sitting line judge. At the Chair Ump, Brian Earley tries to hear what line judge has to say.Serena says "Is she upset because I said I would hit her? I'm sorry, but there's a lot of players who have said way worse!"Then you see Donna Kelso trying to cover her mouth and asking Serena if she used the f-word. Serena says "I did." There is more discussion and then Brian Earley repeatedly throws up his arms appearing to indicate "that's a point penalty, game, set and match". Then Serena shakes Kim's hand.

Rarely called at a crucial point??? A foot fault is a foot fault is a violation. So it should be called at any time. Take basketball... 89-89... one free throw left with no time on the clock. Shooter steps across the line on the shot. Do you think the refs would call that ok because it would be bad timing? Because it would be a crucial point??

Quite unbelievable that Serena said all that, especially considering how tough of a fighter she usually is. It is quite remorseful that she lost the match for misconduct. But, the penalty was fair.

The call was a good call. Serena was called a couple of times in her first match last week. She stared at the line judge like it was his fault! A foot fault must be called when it happens. The line judge should be commended for doing her job. The tournament director should be commended for doing his job and awarding Kim K. the point. The officials did not take the game away from Serena, she only forfeited one single point! It just happened to be the losing/winning point! Not taking anything away from Serena's talent, she is definitely one of the most talented players on the tour. The $10,000.00 fine in not sufficient. She should not be allowed to play until the Australian Open, if then. The game's reputation does not deserve to be dragged to ghetto levels. Serena needs to learn some comportment. Respect will tough to earn for her from here on out.

If it was NFL NCAA you wouldn't be playing the whole season and possibly the next plus a $250K fine!  No remorse either only would make me more incline to install stiffer penalties.Grow up...   

This incident illustrates some of the faults of our American society, in general.  Entitlement, lack of empathy and understanding for others (individualism), intimidation, win no matter what attitude, and then we permit it.  We justify it.  WHY? Who cares about the foot fault?  It does not matter.  Why are we even arguing over the foot fall?  What about her behavior?  There should be no sypathizing.  It is not okay!  And to say it is okay, to justify her actions and her words, is a travesty.  There is nothing that deserves or warrants that behavior.  I teach 7th graders.  Many of them saw Serena's outburst.  What does that tell them?  And from Serena.  The most famous female athlete in the world today.  Our generation offers so few real leaders, so few good people for our youth to model after and now another is gone.    To pretend we don't, as humans beings have a responsibility to a higher purpose, a loving purpose is naive, selfish, and plain wrong.  And it is not okay.  

It is unfortunate that a bad call was made against Serena especially at that stage in the match. I hope that the tennis officials will look at the situation as it is: a star of the game getting the shaft from a no star line caller! I saw some other calls in Serena's matches that were not foot faults. I am sure that was part of the built up frustration that caused Serena to let it all hang out!

A foot fault is a foot fault. I didnt see Venus get up all in the Face. Take Serena out, not for good , thoughm, make an example out of  her for what she said. A fine wont do it . Not for the crappy fines they put on these "Elite" tennis players. Spoiled, Arrogant ,sore loser.

Why is it when some spoiled rich tennis player gets called on something, she's automatcally getting the shaft from some "No star line caller". This woman wasnt yanked out of the crowd and asked to officiate. I , even you , would be highly offended if someone called you a nobody, especially when you're doing a job you're trained to do.   It's not even about the actual fault, its how someone deals with it. Threats of violence are not how its supposed  to be taken care of. Give the linesperson a break.

Rules are rules...if it had not been called it would have been unfair to Kim Clijsters. I also watched an interview on bloomberg with Nic Bolletieri who said he would not have called a foot fault at that juncture of the game and that the line judge had practically invited a tirade against her for doing so at that crucial point in the game. Maybe that's why Serena said what she did...when leading memebers of the tennis elite in America who churn out som eof the best and brightest tennis talents have this sort of attitude, it is no wonder they behave this way...shame on you Serena and shame on you Nick.

Give the poor lineswoman a break.  Why is she accused of a "bad call"?  Put yourself in her shoe.  You were trained to shout "Fault" if a player treads the baseline prior to hitting.  You are not supposed to think of the importance of the occasion or judge the impact of your call.  Your duty is to observe and call -- as mechanically as possible, as a human camera.  She was in a much much better position to observe Serena's foot position than you or I.  (From the TV I did notice her foot stepping slightly into the line after tossing the ball in her second serve, which she did not in her first serve.  However, I really can't tell.)  It is entirely unfair to bash someone simply because she made a star outburst with fury.

Why do you say the call was ridiculous?  Because she did not step into the baseline or because no foot fault call needs to be made at a crucial point?  If you meant the former, I dare to say that you were further away from Serena than the linesperson at that moment.  If you say meant the latter, I say that rules are rules.  Why not just touch the net or do other "minor" illegal things at a crucial point than?

After one point Serena won, at net, in the second set, she growled menacingly at Clijsters and the camera switched to Serenas' mother in the audience. Her mother was giggling in her hand over this. I wish the camera had moved back to her mother after her daughters' final tirad. Are you still laughing Mrs. Williams? Maybe you are the only one who thinks your spoiled child is funny.

I know nothing of tennis and little of sports, but I do know this: in no workplace is this kind of language and behaviour appropriate (though it may be tolerated in some). Ms Williams may be a star player and the referee a meagre salaried employee or even a volunteer, but they are, essentially co-workers. I wouldn't get away with berating my co-workers that way, and neither should she.

You say race has nothing to do with it then call her a thug three sentences later, please.You're telling me someone with 23 grand slam titles (11 singles titles) and with no extensive history of foot faulting all of a sudden can't serve from behind the line?  And it isn't odd to you that Serena and Venus are the only ones getting called for foot faults the whole open?The first foot fault wasn't even close and there's no good replay of the second one.  It's just not a call you make at a time like that.  It'd be like calling a carry on a basketball player during the final possession of a tie playoff game.

There is a video that was public on youtube yesterday for a very brief time that showed the line from behind the lines woman's head.  It was CLEARLY not a foot fault from her perspective.  The video has since been yanked and is probably being offered to the highest bidder. link:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE7by4_mtcU  (MVI0210 user name) The lines woman wanted her 15 minutes of fame and she got it by making a bad call at a time when she knew it would enrage ANY tennis player.   I gave Serena a lot of credit for counting to 10 a few times before she lost control.  It was obvious that she was TRYING to ignore the call but it was just too much to ignore.

I have watched Serena and Venus play tennis since they first came on the professional tour. And in all these years, I have never seen her or Venus lose their cool and focus on the court. This particular line judge was unprofessional, made bad calls, and impacted the game in such a way that should not have been allowed at this level of the game. This line judge called foot faults when there clearly wasn't one and she wanted her 15 minutes of fame. She should be fired and never allowed to make calls at a tennis competition like the US Open or any grand slam.

The line judge should have been fired on the spot, and they should have played the point over - if it were McEnroe, they would have replayed it, and he never got kicked out of the game when he did much worse.  I don't blame Serena for getting that mad, the pressure at the end there was so intense, and let's not forget the millions of dollars at stake.  I am upset that the judges did not take up for her on her behalf to let the game finish, because there was no clear foot fault on the line.  Her talent speaks for itself, and she'll be back to win another!!!   Doesn't affect how I see her at all - if anything  I have more respect for her than ever.  There is such a double standard in tennis, and it shouldn't be!  Because after the match ended we turned it over to the football game, and the f* bomb is dropped by coaches, players, etc., and nothing is ever said about it.... it is the typical reaction when things go wrong.  And this went way wrong.  I think the stupid line judge should have to pay a fine for making such a crucial interruption!

To say the least this women should be fired for making not one but 2 bad calls against Serena during such a critical match. This woman was a distraction and clearly sat on the sideline calling WRONG foot faults too distract the player. This women should be investigated and its very interesting that during this whole turnament the only foot fault calls were on Venus and Serena if you dont belive it plays back your tapes of all the games aired so far.

This ridiculous call was not the first against Serena in particular. No wonder she lost it. How many outrageous harassing calls can anyone put up with in a single tournament? Especially in an atmosphere that is so anti-American (with a couple of minor exceptions) and especially anti-Williams.

And the sickening scripted "return" of Clijsters, which is some corollary to this just makes it that much worse. Tennis is in a decline, after this, I for one won't be sorry if it just keeps going.

The calls could have been the worst, the most incorrect, the most insane, the most blind calls ever made in the sport... (they weren't) but that doesn't matter. What matters is that a player chose to confront the minion linesman with verbal harassment instead of walking over to the overseeing ump and expressing a complaint on the calls. This was poor sportsmanship and harassment. She should have been booted off the court for it. Enough of these temper tantrum sports figures.

The linesperson was wrong. It was too close to call and shouldn't be called. Especially, it's something that is rarely called and at a crucial point in the match. I couldn't see the foot fault on replay and I would feel really bad if I made that call. 

I THINK EVERYONE SHOULD JUST ADMIT THAT SERENA AND VENUS HAVE HAD OUTRAGEOUS CALLS MADE AGAINST THEM OVER THE YEARS...SHE DOESN'T GET CALLED FOR A SINGLE FOOT FAULT UNTIL THIS TOURNAMENT. WHY IS THAT? OF COURSE CLIJSTERS PLAYED WELL AND EVERYONE KNOWS THAT SERENA WOULD HAVE THROWN OUT A COUPLE OF ACES AND GO INTO A THIRD SET WHERE SHE MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE WON. IT SUCKS THAT SHE GOT A BAD CALL AND SHE LOST HER TEMPER. I'M PRETTY SURE EVERYONE HAS LOST THEIR COOL AT ONE TIME IN THEIR LIVES...IT WAS MATCH POINT AND YOU CALL A STUPID FOOT FAULT THAT NO ONE ELSE SAW....LINE JUDGE SHE BE FIRED SERENA SHOULD BE FINED AND EVERYONE NEEDS TO MOVE ON. MCENROE DID IT ALL THE TIME, HE'S MORE FAMOUS FOR OUTBURSTS THAT TENNIS. LOL! SERENA IS STILL THE BEST!!!!!!

The real point of this incident is not the unfair call made against Serena.  It happens in sports all the time.  People, including players and umpires, are human, they make mistakes.  More importantly, it is how Serena handled it.  She SHOULD have handled it with grace - a challenge perhaps - not profanity and threats.  I think she should be suspended from further competition at the US Open and should also forfeit any winnings.  She needs to grow up.  I thought she had and I am sorely disappointed that this can exist in what is supposed to be a genteel sport.  This is not football!  and THIS IS NOT ABOUT RACISM.  It is plain and simply a display of arrogance, a lack of maturity, grace and etiquette.  Plain and simple.  She acted like a thug instead of a world class tennis player.

So, if a foot fault shouldn't be called because her foot just barely touched the line, then a serve should not be in if it just barely touches the line - right? Rules are rules and they all need to be followed.

I'd like one of you to show me where you took the time to post a comment against a white male player (pick one) that has gone on a tirade on the court about  a call...Show me the reference, then I'll be less inclined to believe you aren't racist...especially those of you asking that she be suspended from further competition....are you kidding? Guess what would happen then...admit it...you wouldn't want to watch tennis without those black girls playing...admit it...

Thumbs up Serena. I dont know how many times I wanted to stick the basketball down some Ref's shirt. Reality is these players are above all else competiters. You dont climb that ladder without a slightly controlled rage in you. When someone violates the standards of which they have been held too in rspect to when to call and when not to make a call, it turns to overflow. This was nothing more than a bad judgement call by the lines lady and a bad decision from Serena to go after her. Thats all it is. What was said is not an indication of the person who said it, but of the intense spirit that was unleashed at an improper time. If she gets banned from the Austrailian Open they only will be hurting themselves.

Violence is often an instant action. The person committing the violent action may not know it is going to happen. They are kind of testing themselves. We call it "escalating it to the next level". Some people are not very good at stopping the string of events once they get themselves rolling.    --- The foot fault does not matter.  Security should have run out and tackled Serena to the ground like anyone else swinging a stick and flailing swear words. I knew a Good Christian that once was going to  "get the gun" when their survival was threatened, just their emotional survival.  -   I was afraid for Kim at the point of the handshake, you never know.....  We don't use phrases like Flying Off The Handle for nothing.   -- I suppose the Foot Fault is a fault that is often well ignored, except for once in a while. I bet the words just came out of that linesmans mouth as unexpected to her as it was to us. It seems a lot of players constantly push the foot fault rule on a regular basis. Watch them, they are on the line, not 2 inches back.  "Oh how offened I am you called me on that".. Poor Baby Millilonaire.  At least you where going to put it down her throat and not up her butt. Either way is a little uncomfortable.

Good call or bad call, I love it Serena lost the game because abusing the lineswoman/ umpire/ referee is against sportsman spirit and everything sports stands for.

.Agent.