Episode 5: Lebron James and racism, NHL and concussions, and Reem Abulleil on the French Open
In Episode 5 of Burn It All Down, Julie DiCaro, Shireen Ahmed, and Lindsay Gibbs discuss Lebron James and racism in America, the NHL concussion lawsuit, and Lindsay’s interview with Reem Abulleil of Sport360. Plus you’ll hear The Burn Pile, and Badass Woman of the Week!
L.A. home of LeBron James was vandalized with racist graffiti and he responds with moving statement on being Black in America. BIAD team criticizes the “hot take” denial of sport media (11:29) Concussion lawsuit versus NHL, which has failed to take steps to promote concussion research and protect injured athletes. Discussion of broader implications and how concussions are treated in amateur sports, as well. (17:40) Lindsay interviewed Egyptian sportswriter Reem Abulleil of Sport360, covering the French Open in Paris. They discuss Ons Jabeur of Tunisia who became first Arab woman to reach the third round Grand Slam. Reem and Lindsay discuss her improvisational game, her importance in the Arab world, and the future of her career (31:00) Burn Pile – hosts set metaphorical fire to decision of University of Michigan football after accepting Grant Perry back, after he had been suspended indefinitely for sexual assault (32:35) Lindsay throws tennis player Maxime Hamou on the burn pile. Hamou was kicked out of the French Open for sexually assaulting reporter Maly Thomas. The Eurosport reporters laughed hysterically as Thomas tried to resist (34:16)
Shireen double burns Serbian women’s volleyball team’s racist photographs caricaturing their Japanese hosts, as well as parade-goers at pre-Confederation Cup who used bananas and blackface to mimic Cameroon (37:31) Julie nominates Martina Navratilova for Bad Ass Woman of the Week for her response to tennis legend Margaret Court for violent homophobic remarks. Navratilova called for the Court stadium to be re-named (39:35) Lindsay nominates Diana Taurasi for honorable mention BAWOW for becoming WNBA’s all time three point scorer with eight three pointers in a recent game (39:49) Shireen’s is Ali Raisman for calling out TSA sexist body shaming (40:50)
Links
Racist attack on LeBron James’s home: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-me-ln-lebron-james-brentwood-vandalism-slur-20170531-story.html
Concussion lawsuit vs. NHL: https://www.si.com/nhl/2017/06/05/ap-hkn-boogard-lawsuit
Reem Abulleil on Ons Jabeur: http://sport360.com/article/tennis/french_open/235736/ons-jabeur-beats-dominika-cibulkova-to-become-first-arab-woman-to-reach-the-third-round-of-a-grand-slam/
Grant Perry and the Wolverines: http://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverines/2017/06/03/michigan-wolverines-grant-perry-back/367678001/
Serbian Women’s Volleyball at Deadspin: http://deadspin.com/serbian-womens-volleyball-team-strikes-ill-advised-pose-1795654959
Martina Navratilova: https://www.si.com/tennis/2017/06/01/martina-navratilova-rips-margaret-court
Diana Taurasi breaks WNBA 3 point record: https://arizonasports.com/story/1133911/diana-taurasi-breaks-wnba-three-point-record-mercury-sky/
Ali Raisman criticizes TSA body shaming: http://www.cbssports.com/olympics/news/olympic-gymnast-aly-raisman-blasts-tsa-agent-for-body-shaming-at-airport/
Transcript
Julie: Welcome to this week of Burn It All Down. It may not be the feminist sports podcast you want, but it's the feminist sports podcast you need. This week, our panel includes Shireen Ahmed, a freelance sportswriter who focuses on the intersection of sports and race, and Lindsay Gibbs, sportswriter for ThinkProgress. As for me, I'm Julie DiCaro, a sportswriter and sports radio host in Chicago.
Shireen: Before we begin this week's episode, we wanted to recognize and send out love and support to the victims of terrorist attacks in Kabul, in Baghdad, in Portland, in London and Manchester. We wish all those affected by these tragedies healing and peace. And we would also like to congratulate Manchester United on the UEFA Cup win, and hopefully that joy will help heal those in that affected community.
Julie: This week, we'll discuss the racist slur painted on one of LeBron James’ homes and what he had to say about it, how the NHL is handling concussions, and we'll share Lindsay's interview with Reem Abulleil about Arab women in sports and how they train and compete in Ramadan. So, let's jump right into topic number one. It was a tough week for LeBron James and his family, for more reasons than just the Cavs' game one loss to the Warriors. Shireen?
Shireen: Thanks, Julie. Just before the NBA finals started between the Cavs and the Golden State Warriors, LeBron James’ home in LA was vandalized and anti-Black and racist graffiti was painted on his home. Luckily his family is safe and he's safe, but he talked about it in a presser before the finals started. And what he said was really, really, really harrowing. And he actually referenced Emmett Till – and for those who don't know, Emmett Till's case is one of the most profound in 20th century American history. Emmett Till was a young man who was brutally murdered by two white men who accused him of whistling at a white woman – and something we later found out, many decades later, that she had fabricated the entire incident. So he basically died for something he absolutely did not do.
And it goes back to show historically the links between the way Black folks are judged and treated within the system generally. And he spoke to that, and I'm going to quote LeBron here. “I think back to Emmett Till's mom, actually. That’s one of the first things I thought of. The reason she had an open casket was that she wanted to show the world what her son had went through as far as a hate crime and being Black in America. No matter how much money you have, no matter how famous who are, no matter how many people admire you. Being Black in America is tough. We have a long way to go for us as a society and for us as African-Americans until we feel equal in America.”
And for me, just reading this and listening to him speak was so important. This is the day before the championship, you know? He’s a reigning world champ. And the Cavs…And I think for him to be in this position, to be talking about this, is a testament to how things are. And he's being so brutally honest here, talking about, you know, he has a huge platform. He's arguably the best player in the NBA and one of the world's most popular athletes, and this is just…It’s heartbreaking, and it’s enraging at the same time.
And to follow that up really quickly, Sean Spicer…So, he was trying to say that since Trump had been elected, LeBron had referenced that there was a spike in hate crimes. And Sean Spicer was like, no, it's not, that's not true, and Trump just wants to unite the country moving forward, et cetera. And we're all like, groan. That's not true. But I think it's really important when you tie things together. This is a systemic problem, regardless of how popular you are. It doesn't matter. Racism and victims of racism are affected all across the socioeconomic sphere, the geographic sphere. It doesn't matter. And that's what he was pointing to. And I think that was really important.
Julie: Yeah. Having worked in radio in Chicago this week, and I'm talking about this on the air, it was really disheartening to see the responses from people on the text line, from callers. There were a lot of people who have the attitude that this problem…“How do you even know this was a white person who did it? It probably was another Black person just trying to make us look bad.” There were a ton of people saying things like, who cares? He's got enough money to have it fixed himself, or he's got insurance, so why is he making a big deal about it? You know, I feel like obviously this is not the first time athletes have dealt with this. We all know what Muhammad Ali went through. We all know what Hank Aaron went through. Jackie Robinson. Multiple, multiple number of African-American athletes. But I feel like it used to be at least that white people tried to hide their racism from other white people, if they didn't hide it from African-Americans and other people of color.
But even that is now gone by the wayside. People are so open about it. People are so “this is who I am,” and they're almost proud of it. And it is so upsetting and disgusting to see. I'm sort of dumbfounded by this. I know I shouldn't be. I know that this is something people of color will tell me has been going on in this country for hundreds of years and I just didn't see it. I think that the idea that people are saying, you know, “LeBron James is rich, so what does he care?” is the point that LeBron was making, that there is literally no way to escape this in America, no matter how much money you have, no matter how popular you are, in general, in society. You’re still going to have to deal with this stuff.
And I've always appreciated what LeBron has shared with his children, and he's talked about teaching his children how to address police officers and things like that, so that they can try to remain safe should they ever get pulled over. And it just broke my heart to hear about this happening to him and his family. And people I talked to in the NBA said there was no way this was going to affect LeBron in the finals, but I don't know how it couldn’t. Lindsay?
Lindsay: Yeah, I think it's worth noting that LeBron has been addressing racism for years since his career began. If you listened to our podcast last week, you know Jessica Luther talked a little bit about the good he’s done in the community, about the activism that he's been doing in Cleveland since he became a professional. He said that he was okay in some way with this happening if it sparked a conversation, if it made…As long as his family is okay, he said, and this sparks a conversation, then maybe it's okay. That's hard for me to comprehend, because it is such a selfless statement to make. And the fact that he has to deal with this, and that he knows that him dealing with this is going to bring this more attention. It's pretty remarkable.
Look, he who shall not be named – a certain Fox Sports writer – has been blazing hot takes all week long about how we shouldn't be feeling bad for LeBron, about how he needs to not whine about this, about everything under the sun. Look, you can’t out-earn racism. You can't out-dress racism. You can't out-class racism. Racism is racism. And of course it's going to express itself in different ways towards different people. But look, it's the same thing. Andre Iguodala of the Golden State Warriors said, look, I haven't had that word spray-painted on my gate, but I've had people look at me and I've seen that word in their eyes.
Shireen: Oof. That’s so powerful. Like, oh, that is just really, really powerful, that quote. I just was going to reiterate what Lindsay said about hot takes. I'm just not here for them. In his presser, he's supposed to be focusing. He's talking about head spaces. I just…Whitlock and everybody else…And I mean, for me, we've said this, I've said this – Julie, this is just in response to what you said earlier about, you know, being on the radio and people texting you and feeling very comfortable sharing their opinion. This is this man's lived experience. It's not up for discussion. It's not up for opinion.
This is real, and so real that it's all over most sports media. We don't need these hot takes. We don't need these opinion pieces on whether or not he should be and how he should act as a respondent to racist abuse. Like, this is what boggles my mind. Is sports media really that vacuous that it needs to comment, and that people think they have a right, particularly people that are not Black? Like, I'm sorry, you can't tell somebody how to respond. It doesn’t work like that. Period.
Julie: Exactly right. Lindsay?
Lindsay: Yeah. Look, the NBA is a very progressive league, but even in the NBA, you can see the structural powers of racism at play. 74.3% of NBA players are Black in 2016. Only three teams had a Black CEO or president in 2016. Right now, there are only eight Black head coaches in the NBA, and only one majority African-American owner, which is Michael Jordan. This year, according to The Undefeated, which did a great piece, it's the first time in 42 years that two Black coaches are facing off in the NBA finals. And this isn't even an official statistic, because of course Mike Brown is merely the acting head coach in place of an injured Steve Kerr, who could return any game now.
LeBron James said last week that he wanted to own an NBA team when he retired. First of all, it's staggering that he doesn't have enough money right now to do that, according to all projections of his net worth. Like, that amount of wealth hasn't even trickled to LeBron James yet, possibly. But also, I read on Twitter, some very insightful person said – and I wish I could remember it, and I will try and find this later – but they said, look, it's not a coincidence that this happened right after he said he wanted to own a team. People are threatened. People are threatened, and it's tragic.
Julie: Shireen, you want to have the last word?
Shireen: I just wish LeBron and the Cavs all the success in the world. I wish their families safety, and that's all I can say. And to all players and athletes out there, and in fact all people out there, this is just not something in addition to having to perform your job as a professional basketball player, you have to start talking about personalized incidences of racist abuse. It's like, I just hope he has…And I'm sure he has his supports, and he’s spoken so eloquently and powerfully about it. And he's teaching so many people and guiding them. And I just wish him all the success in the world.
Julie: I just wanted to add one thing, which is where are the white NBA players on this issue? I haven't seen anyone coming out and really making a strong statement about. So, to me that is really disturbing. Why is the burden always on the victims to be the ones to speak out? That is something to me that was really upsetting.
Lindsay: Yeah. That's a great point. You know, I'd definitely like to see Kevin Love stepping up and, you know, some of LeBron's white teammates. Also, on a much lighter note, but I would like to still say it – I would also like LeBron and the team to step it up a little bit on the court, because I am ready for some entertaining basketball, and I would like these NBA finals to end on a very competitive note. And that first game did not do it for me. I understand we're dealing with some very serious issues and I do not mean to make light of those, and we should still talk about them, but also, basketball!
Julie: If you didn't know who we were referencing on Fox Sports, I think Shireen used the word Whitlock. I think we've decided that he shall be called he who shall not be named. He is a big man in a very tiny fedora. [Shireen laughs] So, that should give you some more clues as to who we're talking about. But you know, Whitlock’s a contrarian, this is how he makes his living. It's so obnoxious that you can make such a fruitful living by just coming out and saying the exact opposite of what a decent person would say any single time. But that seems to be the space Whitlock has carved out for himself. Let's move on to topic number two. We’re right in the middle of the Stanley Cup final, which has been extremely entertaining so far. But when it comes to the NHL and concussions, the league still has a long way to go. Lindsay?
Lindsay: More documents were unsealed this week for the ongoing NHL concussion lawsuit, which might actually go to trial later this year, which is certainly something to look out for. But look, in this one, which was reported by TSN, who has just…Shoutout to TSN for some fantastic reporting on this concussion lawsuit. I just want to read you this letter from a NHL doctor to another colleague of his. “I’m once again disappointed in my colleagues in the NHL Physicians Society,” the team doctor wrote in an email to a Calgary based member of the NHL's concussion working group in 2009 during the playoffs. “We all sit around and talk about concussion management. Then it's the playoffs. Someone suffers an obvious loss of consciousness, and it's back playing in less than 48 hours. This is an example of situational ethics.”
So look, that is a very alarming email, and it also really reminded me of what happened with Sidney Crosby, where the concussions in this year's playoffs, eight years later in 2017, with all we know now, when the NHL concussion spotters did not take Sidney Crosby out of the game, despite a hit that seemed to obviously have rattled him. The NHL is handling this all so poorly. I cannot even handle it. Every bit of information that leaks out about this lawsuit looks worse and worse and worse for them. They're still not taking many significant forward steps towards addressing the issue of concussions. And right now they're just lucky that they’re a more under the radar league than the NFL, but this isn't going anywhere. It’s only going to get worse. And it's sad that even here during the Stanley Cup finals – which, by the way, have been way more entertaining than the NBA playoffs. I know that is not a big hot take, but it's sad that this is still overshadowing everything in the league.
Julie: The NHL has also refused to fund concussion research, which is really startling considering what the NFL has been through publicly for refusing to fund research in an ethical way. They're sort of funding it with doctors who find what they want them to find and trying to withhold money from researchers that are finding that concussions are prevalent. It's just remarkable that, having witnessed what the NFL has been through, that the NHL is still making these horrible decisions when it comes to concussions. I know there were some emails from Gary Bettman that were released, where he was encouraging people to downplay concussions, to downplay the fact that the league isn't going to fund concussion research. So, it's just really disappointing given the suicide of Steve Montador, all the work that Daniel Carcillo has been doing with speaking out about concussions, especially among enforcers in the NHL. Lindsay's exactly right. They're very lucky that they are not as prominent of a league as the NFL, because they have made every wrong decision on this.
Shireen: Yeah, I just wanted to talk a little bit and connect it. It's very disappointing to see that the NHL and the NFL are not actually giving us due diligence. For me, this is so much about power and control, and instead of protecting and trying to advocate for athletes, just sort of become this gong show of back and forth and let’s see about money and corruption and, you know, there's books being written and movies being made, and there's still rebuttals and refutes to that. And it's quite complicated. I have a 15 year old daughter who plays soccer, and the concussion protocols for her, even though she's an amateur athlete and she's so young, they're very serious. And concussions are also a huge potential danger for young women, particularly adolescent girls.
In Canada – I'm not sure if anyone knows about this – Rowan Stringer was a young 17 year old rugby player, and she actually died of what's called second impact syndrome after two concussions went completely unchecked. So, the province of Ontario actually mandated recommendations and protocols, including preseason concussion testing and full follow-ups with pediatricians and neurologists to ensure that this type of thing doesn't happen again, because this young woman actually died. And to think that professional athletes who are using their bodies regularly in very physical ways are not getting that type of…No one's caring about them. I find it so problematic because in a way they're so vulnerable physically as well. And if their own organizations are not actually trying to put into place protocols or policies that help them, this is really dangerous. And it's really really scary.
Lindsay: Yeah. You know, the saddest thing is the NHL is still trying to keep people from talking about this, despite the fact that this lawsuit is ongoing, that this litigation is ongoing, that this is a problem that is directly facing us every time these players take the ice. A reporter asks about concussion safety at the pre Stanley Cup finals press conference, and an NHL executive actually came up to him after that press conference and said that that question was crazy and out of line. Look, they're trying to keep everybody quiet and trying to keep these power situations and power structures in place, and what it does is it just scares everyone. And I just really feel for these athletes, and I want to give credit to every single athlete who is joining this lawsuit, whoever reports concussions or ever speaks up about concussions. Because there's a lot on the line, from the lowest levels of amateur sport all the way up to the stars in the NHL.
One of the interviews I did last year was with Dale Purinton, who was a former NHL enforcer, who is one of the players who is suing the NHL. And I just want to end this with the quote that he gave me when we talked. “You don't have a voice when you're on the team, because once you start to ask questions or you push back by any means, they say, oh, he's uncoachable, he’s the cancer of the team. If you get labeled like that, you're going to lose your job. There's so much pressure that way. It's really a fear-based job. If you fall out of line, they're going to replace you.”
Julie: This week, Lindsay had the chance to speak with Egyptian sportswriter Reem Abulleil. She's based in Dubai. Lindsay, what'd you guys talk about?
Lindsay: We talked about the week of Ons Jabeur, who is a Tunisian tennis player, who had a history-making week before she lost in the third round to Swiss player Timea Bacsinszky. She got into the draw as a lucky loser, which means she didn't win the qualifying tournament, but when a player withdrew she was able to get into the main draw. And that set up a really a remarkable story. It was a pleasure to talk to Reem about Ons' journey at the French Open.
I am here with Reem Abulleil. She is the managing editor and tennis journalist at Sport360. She is coming to us live in Paris at the French Open, after a rain delay on Saturday afternoon has unfortunately canceled play. I have to start with Ons, with Ons Jabeur, who's a Tunisian tennis player, ranked #114 in the world. She had the week of her career, I believe it's safe to say, at the French Open. She made it to the third round, and in the second round she upset #6 Dominika Cibulková, a former grand slam finalist, on one of the main courts in Paris. And she became the first woman from any of the 21 Arab countries to make it to the third round of a grand slam. Reem, I know you have followed Ons’ career closer than anyone besides maybe her family. What was this moment like, and how do you kind of put that moment into perspective?
Reem: I have to say that I almost got kicked out of the press room, [laughter] because I am never this loud and I'm never this animated, and I usually keep my cool. It was so difficult!Just because, like you said, I have followed her career very closely since the very start, even before she won the Roland Garros junior title in 2011. So, I got really emotional when I saw Ons…I guess I just, when she made it in as a lucky loser, that was a very big moment. It's not her first grand slam main draw, but it's her first at Roland Garros, and Roland Garros is a very special place for her.
And I felt that even though she's still very young – she's 22 years old! – she’s had a lot of pressure on her shoulders ever since she won the junior title here because she’s the only Arab. Literally every Arab country, anyone who does care about tennis was basically saying, oh, she won the junior title at Roland Garros? Maybe she'll win the big title next year, you know? The expectations were completely unrealistic.
Lindsay: That transition from juniors into the pro circuit is something we see a lot of players…I mean, look, you see American players with huge support systems struggle with that transition. But how much harder is that when you're coming from a country and coming from a community that doesn't have this tennis tradition, that hasn’t supported anyone over that hump before? What barriers did Ons face that maybe a lot of players coming from places that have more tennis support systems don't understand?
Reem: The Arab countries obviously have different levels of, I'd say, tennis tradition. So, North Africa does have, to some extent, for example, in comparison to where I live, which is Dubai or the Gulf region. There is a significant difference. For example, a place like Qatar has a bit of a system now. So it varies, but I would say with Ons growing up…At the end of the day, there is in general a lot of corruption in our sports federations – and I'm talking very generally. She did get some form of support. I won't say that it was non-existent, but it is not at the level that she needs.
First of all, from the very basic thing of having the right competition around her – other Tunisian girls to compete against – she did not have that, Many other countries, it’s an advantage. You get to play local tournaments. You get to do that because there are people who you can compete against. With Ons, that was never the case. Obviously she was much better than everybody else in her country, and in the region. Another thing is just having the right development programs, having the right coaches, having a national tennis center, all of these things are not something we have in the Arab world.
Lindsay: What is it about Ons? I mean, she is so much fun to watch. It's full of drop shots, full of surprises. Sometimes you feel like she’s surprising herself out there with her shot selection. [laughter] And she just has so much fun, and it's a fun that we don't often get to see on the tennis court because of the pressure. What is it about her that allows her to play such an improvisational style and have so much fun? And what did you kind of see in her from a young age that made you feel like this girl might be something special?
Reem: I think it's a combination of things. I think as a character, just off the court, Ons is such a fun person. And I'm not just saying that because I'm biased or anything. I mean, I've always, always noticed this about her from day one. She just emanates light. She's so nice to everybody. She's always joking around. I mean, you'd walk into the player's lounge and I’d be like looking for her and I'd find her just literally messing around with the coffee lady. [laughter] Literally just making her laugh, just cracking jokes, making coffee with her, helping her out, doing random stuff. And you’d be like, Ons, you should be training now, what are you doing? [laughter] But that's who she is. She is so friendly. I see her joking around with Kasatkina, Konjuh, all of these girls who are her age or a little bit younger, but she grew up with them and they love her. They love her because she's just so nice.
And that kind of fun character, cracking jokes – I mean, if you've seen any of her press conferences, like anyone who has had a conversation with Ons as an interviewer, you wouldn't believe the amount of times she's just being sarcastic, like the whole time between every line and the other. It’s just her nature. She's a very, very funny girl. She doesn't take herself too seriously. I spoke to her coach, and I was telling him, do you think…You look at the top players, and they don't have that many friends. They're not hanging around all the time joking. They come in, they come out, they do their thing and they go home and stay serious and stay focused. Are you worried that Ons exerts so much energy in doing so?
He’s like, listen, this is not something I want to take away from her because who she is, this is what makes her special, and I wouldn't want to pressure her into being any other way. This is reflected in her game. I think her fun, playful personality is how she is on the court. She wants to have fun. She wants to make a show. She says that word a lot – “I want to make a show. I want to make a show.” But it's not in a way where, oh, I want to make a show and not win. She combines both, which I really like. I really liked that she says that. She's so very, very competitive, but she wants to win in a beautiful way.
Lindsay: One of the things we're big on in this podcast and in life in general is the importance of representation. Look, it matters. And I know when Ons won that match against Cibulková – and I believe even her first round match – she grabbed the Tunisian flag and she celebrated on court like she had just won it all. And just this joy just emanated and this pride…And she talked about how she wasn't just doing it for Tunisia, she was doing it for all women in the Arab world. What impact will this have?
Unfortunately, as you know, we live in a time where Arab women aren't getting the best representation in the media and internationally, and there are these stereotypes that are out there and there is this hate. To see a girl…Sorry, a woman. She's a woman – that’s my age showing, not my respect for her! [Reem laughs] But to see a woman that accomplished, having that much fun, doing this during the holy month, talking about Ramadan, talking about her religion, talking about the Arab world, what impact do you think that will have?
Reem: Well, you hope that…Listen, at the end of the day, you need the other side to be receptive, okay? And I don't mean to say there are sides, but you know what I mean? Just like–
Lindsay: I know what you mean. [laughter]
Reem: Yeah. They need to be receptive and have an open mind and not stick to a certain way. I'll give you an example. So, you mentioned Ramadan and all the conversation about Ramadan. For me, one of the things that I didn't completely understand here, the way Ons was covered…Yes, a lot of people spoke about her being the first Arab woman in the third round and all that, but for example, one of the agencies, one of the wire agencies led within the intro about saying she's “juggling religion and sport.” For me, that's not…First of all, what Ons is doing with Ramadan, I am doing with Ramadan.
Lindsay: Yeah. [laughs]
Reem: The most common thing in history is if it's Ramadan and you're traveling for work or traveling for something that you cannot postpone or change, you are allowed not to fast. And you fast those days later, as long as it's before the next Ramadan the following year. This is the most basic rule we have in our religion. [laughs] I do it when…I try as much as I can to fast, but here, if I'm fasting 17 hours a day, which unreal – no water, no food, nothing. And I'm here because of my job. I'm not here because I'm in Paris chilling and shopping, you know? Ramadan has coincided with Wimbledon the last two or three years as well, so I have been in the same situation because the days are very, very long in London as well.
So, I fast as much as I can, but the days that I really can't, I am allowed because I'm traveling. So, it happens to everybody. Literally, if you're a businessman and you're traveling on business, you do it. If you're an athlete, you do it. So it is quite common. I do understand that people don't understand that, but it's a very common thing. There is no agony behind it or anything. [laughter] There is no struggle, “juggling religion…” No! You do what you can. Our religion is actually a very simple religion. It's not a strict religion. It tries to make things easy for us. It's not trying to make our life hard. Okay? Which is what a lot of people don't know.
So, for Ons, it's not a struggle. She knows very well, oh, I'm fasting these days later. It's fine. It was the headline news! So that's an example of how I'm saying people need to really be receptive and really focus on the core of everything. What is the core here? The core is, first of all, when she won her first round, that was the first time in nine years an Arab woman had won a round at a grand slam. And then when she made it into the third round, that was unprecedented for an Arab woman. People need to speak about her like it’s…This is tennis, at the end of the day. You know what I mean? Look at her accomplishments as a tennis player and then talk about everything else you can possibly think of. By all means, do it. Okay?
I'm not saying this is the only thing you should be talking about, but treat her like anybody else. Look at her accomplishments. And I think what Ons has done is amazing, and she got the platform. It's amazing for both. In our region, young girls needed to see that. I mean, if you're flipping through the channels and you find Ons on beIN SPORTS with a Tunisian flag celebrating after beating a top 10 player, that is huge. That is huge because there's so many girls who wouldn't even think that they can be professional athletes, period, not just tennis players. So I think for our region, it's really important.
And I think for the rest of the world, it's really important because Ons is amazing. The way she talks to people, she's so generous. She's so kind. And this is how we are. Arabs have a sense of humor. Arabs are kind. Arabs are not these loud, crazy people you see on television. [laughter] This is not us. You know what I mean? And how often do you get to see that? Ons speaks three or four languages. She’s just a perfect person to represent the region. And it is a lot of weight on her shoulders because she knows she's representing the region because the world sees us all as one block, you know?
Lindsay: Right.
Reem: So she's not representing just Tunisia. She's a very proud Tunisian. And I know a lot of journalists and people ask her about the flag thing, because it's not common. It's common for a country that doesn't get to have a moment like this.
Lindsay: What is next for her tennis career? What do you think the ceiling is for her?
Reem: I think it's very important for her to use the hunger that she she has right now and just build on it. What has happened with Ons before? She may have had a good week or a strong…Like, I remember once I think she qualified at Indian Wells and had a big match against Wozniacki…I’m not sure if it was Indian Wells or not. It was one of the American tournaments, probably Indian Wells. Anyway, she had that big match and everyone and got to see her and she did great, and then she loses steam for run one reason or another. I think right now, it's a key moment for her.
First of all, she's literally one win away from the top 100, which would be huge, just the meaning of it all, and a milestone that maybe from 101 to 99 doesn't make a difference for us, but for them it's a big deal. Her top priority right now, she says, “I want to qualify to Wimbledon. And I want that to be the last tournament where I play qualifying and finally be main draw for US Open.” So I think that…Yeah, I really love that she said that. I just hope that from now to Wimbledon she does everything right, uses the momentum that she had, and stays hungry, as hungry as possible. And I do think that she will, because her coach, he's young, he gets along well with her and I've spoken to him and I feel that he will push her in the right direction.
Lindsay: Look, I could talk to you all day, but we really appreciate having you here on Burn It All Down. And enjoy the rain delay, and hopefully you guys will get some great tennis tomorrow.
Reem: Thank you, thank you for having me. And I would love to join you anytime.
Lindsay: Awesome. Thanks.
Julie: Now it's time for everyone's favorite segment we like to call it the burn pile, where we pile up all the things we've hated this week in sports and set them aflame. I'll start this week. University of Michigan wide receiver Grant Perry is back practicing with his team this week after having been suspended indefinitely for being charged with sexual assault. Back in October, Perry was accused of sexual assault by touching a woman outside a bar in East Lansing. He was charged with fourth degree sexual assault and resisting a police officer, as well as possession of alcohol by a minor. A 46 page police report was released in late December, alleging Perry grabbed a 21 year old woman by the groin. But, when police arrived at the bar and asked for his identification, he took off running. He was tackled by an officer who was injured. He refused a breathalyzer, and he was formally charged in December. And at that time, Michigan's athletic director said that he would be suspended immediately and indefinitely until the legal process was completed. But earlier this week, Perry's trial was continued until July. And so he suddenly returned to practice with the team.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh confirmed that Perry has been working out with the team and will be in fall camp. You know, it's easy to take a stance against sexual assault back in December when the regular season is winding down, especially when the player involved is an underclassman. But when you start interfering with training camp, we see how committed schools actually are to disciplinary action when it comes to sexual assault. So, Jim Harbaugh and the University of Michigan, your decision to reinstate a player simply because his trial was continued as a bad one, and I want to burn it.
Lindsay: Burn. I want to throw the actions of French tennis player Maxime Hamou onto the burn pile. The 21 year old French player, ranked #287 in the world, he made headlines this week when he sexually assaulted a female reporter on air. Maly Thomas, the Eurosport reporter, was just trying to get his reaction from his week at Roland Garros when Hamou decided to grab her by the shoulder, pull her close to his side, and kiss her multiple times during their interview, despite the fact that she was pushing him away the entire time, while also trying to remain professional. The whole time this was going on, the Eurosport commentators who were on screen, the picture-in-picture as these networks tend to do, they were all laughing hysterically, thought this was the funniest thing they'd ever seen.
One of the most disturbing parts is at the end of this 45 seconds segment when she pushes away with her full hand and he then grabs her by the neck, puts his whole arm…His elbow is then grabbing her neck, and pulls her back towards him. She is not going to escape his grasp. He tries to pretend this is all playful, but it is terrifying. It is unprofessional. It is unacceptable. He has been banned from the French Open. I honestly hope he's not allowed back. His apology was ridiculous. He's only ranked #287 in the world, so he is not a fixture on the biggest stages of the sport. But look, this isn't the way anyone should carry themselves in any capacity. Solidarity to Maly Thomas, and to all female reporters who've had to deal with instances like this in the past. Let's burn it down, and stop doing this, men.
Julie: Shireen?
Shireen: Yes. Thanks. It's Ramadan. And I'm trying not to swear, as part of my personal practice. This was really hard for me because I've actually got two burns this week. I'm just going to borrow one from Jess or Brenda. The Serbian women's volleyball team beat Poland in a qualifier to reach the finals in Japan next year, to go to that tournament. And in cases, teams rejoice and they have celebrations and that's absolutely amazing and we love to see that happiness. But what this particular team decided to do was, because they're going to Japan, they thought it was a great idea to take a team photo – and mind you, not everybody in the photo is doing this – but they took a team photo using their fingers to slant their eyes in an absolutely horrific, racist gesture.
Now, first of all, I don't know who thought this was a good idea, and whoever took the picture should have been, no, that's not a great idea. I actually tweeted this story out. It was on Deadspin and we'll put it up in the show summary. And the response I got when I tweeted it out was people telling me that I was misinformed or I was misinterpreting the gesture, which was actually one of appreciation and respect. No, I'm sorry. If someone wants to tell me that they love Afghan or Pakistani culture, the way to do it is to not mimic me or go brown face. I'm sorry. Terrible idea. Ladies, you were role models for so many young women and girls. This was absolutely unacceptable. So disappointed. I want to burn it.
Julie: And you've got one more, Shireen?
Shireen: I do. In the same vein of being racist and totally unacceptable, we're leading up to the FIFA World Cup in Sochi next year, which will be 2018. So right now there is a festival happening and it's actually called the Carnaval Sochi Fest. And I mean, matches will be – for this sort of pre-tournament, it's called the Confederation Cup – Cameroon versus Germany. So a bunch of parade-goers who were actually in the parade thought it was an amazing idea to represent Cameroon by blackface. Not only that – they held bananas and walked through the parade sort of flying and waving Cameroonian flags. And I'm just sitting here going, ugh, oh my god.
And this is only a very small snippet of the ridiculousness, absurdity and offensiveness we are going to see next year, and it's happening now. Again, who thinks this is a good idea? You don't get to do this. Blackface is absolutely unacceptable. It is not a compliment. It is not emulating…And you know, somebody actually said to me, well, I don't know why you're upset because isn't imitation the sincerest form of flattery? I just wanted…I’m choosing my words so carefully right now. I'm trying not to swear.
Julie: People are the worst.
Shireen: Just with the worst! And I'm sorry, like, it's just…White folks, if you want to be complimentary, all you gotta do…Or for any folks that are non-Black, not just white folks, Just wear the Cameroonian jersey. That’s all you gotta do to show support. It's a very simple…Wear a team scarf! You do not need blackface. Ugh! Sorry. I just want to torch it.
Lindsay: Can I cuss for you, Shireen? Because that is just ridiculous. Is that allowed?
Shireen: Totally. I mean, I'm going to outsource–
Lindsay: Fuck that! That is horrible. Burn it!
Shireen: Burn.
Julie: I also feel like, you know, don't wear blackface is just an evergreen statement that should apply to every situation. [laughter]
Lindsay: It's one of the golden rules, really.
Shireen: Of life! Don’t do it.
Julie: After all that burning, it's time to celebrate some remarkable women in sports this week with our badass women of the week. This week, our winner is 18 time grand slam singles titles winner, Martina Navratilova, for calling for a renaming of one of Australia's premier tennis venues, the Margaret Court Arena, on Thursday, in an open letter published in the Sydney Morning Herald. The arena’s namesake, tennis legend-turned Christian pastor Margaret Court, has been under fire for recent racist and homophobic comments. On Thursday, Court said she'll stop using the Australia-based Qantas airlines after its CEO stated his support for same-sex marriage. Back in 2011, she said gay people are “aggressively demanding rights that are not theirs to take.” She's also previously gone after Martina Navratilova and other lesbian tennis players, saying they “ruined the sport.” She went so far as to accuse them of luring young girls on the tour to parties to turn them into lesbians.
Martina, in her letter, says that arenas are named after athletes not only because of their achievements, but also because of their character. She says she and other members of the tennis community do not believe the character of Court reflects the values of the community as a whole, saying, “We celebrate free speech, but that doesn't mean it’s free of consequences. Not punishment, but consequences.” Says, “We should not be celebrating this kind of behavior or philosophy. The platform people like Margaret Court use needs to be made smaller, not bigger, which is why I think it's time to change your name. And I think Evonne Goolagong Arena has a great ring to it.” Now, there is a person we can all celebrate on every level. Go Martina. She's our badass woman of the week. Lindsay?
Lindsay: Yes, there's really no following Martina, but I do want to give a shoutout to Diana Taurasi, who became the WNBA's all time career three point leader, and she did so by scoring eight three pointers in one game, which, look – that is how you set a record! Love you, Diana. Thank you.
Julie: Shireen?
Shireen: Thanks. This week, my honorable mention actually goes out to Aly Raisman, and this I found on PopSugar. While Aly was traveling, she actually had an interaction, a really negative interaction with a TSA agent. The first TSA agent actually, you know, because she's famous and she's an Olympic medalist, she recognized her and commented. But what ended up happening after that is the male TSA agent actually made a comment about her arms. And let's just be straight up about this. She's amazing. She's talented. She’s incredible athletically. And to make that comment about her, she called out as being a sexist body shamer.
And I really want to give her props for being so brave to talk about it. I mean, particularly in the sport that historically has a lot of issues about body dysmorphia and, you know, eating disorders and whatnot. She was so brave to come out and say this. And just to tip to any male listeners who might feel the need to comment on women's bodies: do not do it, ever. Just, again, reiterate: shoutout to Aly for her awesomeness.
Julie: All right. That's it for this week's episode of Burn It All Down. Burn It All Down is produced by Brian Dusek and lives on SoundCloud, but can also be heard on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn and Google Play. We always appreciate your reviews and feedback, so feel free to subscribe, rate, and tell us what you liked or didn't like about the show. We hope you'll follow us on Twitter @burnitdownpod and on Facebook at Burn It All Down. We now have a website and you can check it out by heading on over to burnitalldownpod.com. That's where you'll find our show notes and links to all the topics we discuss. And of course, you can email us at burnitalldownpod@gmail.com. We love to hear from our listeners.
And please take some time this week to check out our GoFundMe page and consider making a small donation. We really want to improve the podcast and make it a sustainable endeavor, and because of generous donations we've already been able to get better mics for those who didn't have them. And so we're grateful to everyone who's contributed so far. For Lindsay Gibbs and Shireen Ahmed, I'm Julie DiCaro and we'll see you next week.