by Saeed Shabazz
Staff Writer

NEW YORK (FinalCall.com)�When Richard Williams, 73, the outspoken father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, accused fans attending a tournament at Indian Wells, Va., of hurling racial epithets at him and his daughters, it opened a sore that has been festering for too long beneath the surface of sports in America. "They kept calling me a nigger," Mr. Williams was quoted in the March 26 edition of USA Today.

The ugly outburst from the fans reportedly was in response to Venus Williams pulling out of an earlier match pitting her against her sister. People thought her father asked her to fake an injury, the press reported.

"It was a wake up call for me," Mr. Williams told The Final Call during a March 29 phone interview, responding to being called the racial epitaph. "I am not surprised that racism is alive and well. What disappointed me was that I reacted angrily.

"The reality is that many whites believe that we should be happy that they allowed us in the gate to play, and that we should shut up and entertain them. And if we don�t entertain them, then we should go home. That was my wake up call.

"A lot of people have responded to me being called a nigger. Much of the response is positive. I never said all the people in Indian Wells were bad. Black people are innocent of racism. White people are coming against us," he said.

The incident was given national attention by the media, even as Serena and Venus were preparing for the Ericsson Open in Miami, which was won by Venus Williams in a thrilling three-set match over Jennifer Capriati on March 31.

Following her victory, Venus addressed the controversy herself.

"He has a great influence on me," she said of her father. "He has given me everything that I have right now or else I would be somewhere struggling in college. Maybe lots of bad things could have happened to me. So I am very, very thankful and I have nothing bad to say against him because he loves me. He wants the best for me and has done everything he can for me ... he would give me his right arm.

"People are afraid to face the reality," she said regarding racism. "No one wants to see bad things, no one wants to see the dark side. They want to be happy and I don�t blame them for that. But we�ve got to face our fears and meet any problem head on that we might have in America."

Even while some sports commentators cite that other tennis players�Martina Hingis, Andre Agassi and John McEnroe have faced similar mean-spirited booing, Mr. Williams� indictment of white attitudes challenges the promotion that sports is the American ideal of competition on a level playing field where race does not matter.

It also raises recent memories of Fuzzy Zoeller�s 1997 racial insult to Tiger Woods after Mr. Woods won golf�s prestigious Masters Tournament.

"Tell him (Woods) not to serve chicken next year, or collard greens, or whatever they serve," Mr. Zoeller said. His comment caused Mr. Zoeller to lose endorsement contracts with businesses like K-Mart stores. The Masters winner has the right to choose the menu for the banquet at the next year�s tournament.

No amount of coaching jobs or multi-million dollar contracts for athletes can level the playing field, suggests Larry Hardesty, co-host of the popular New York City sport�s talk show Sports Box, heard on radio station WLIB. "The mistake far too many Black athletes make is believing that money helps you to circumvent the racism," he said, adding that many in his listening audience are buying into the same myth.

"Many of our callers said they felt things would be fine for the Williams sisters if their father would stop yelling racism, step back and just let them play tennis. What I believe Richard Williams sees is that the more the girls win, the more people hate them," he said.

"Let Tiger Woods or any other high profile Black athlete try to catch a cab at midnight in Washington, D.C., or New York City, they will quickly understand what the rest of us go through being Black," Charles S. Farrell, director of Rainbow Sports, a subsidiary of the Rainbow/Push Wall Street Project. "I don�t see whites changing their attitudes because we can dunk a basketball."

In fact, he added, "I have heard people say that they are cheering the color of the uniform, not the person wearing it. When the game is over they expect you to stay in your place."

Rainbow Sports has been working behind the scene to build a bridge between professional sports corporations and Black and Latino businessmen hoping to win contracts in the lucrative sports businesses that have fueled modern day corporate greed. "We are gaining in some of the marketing areas, but we have a steep hill to climb," Mr. Farrell said.

"What does all of this mean?" asks Minister Benjamin Muhammad, national director of the Million Family March and former executive director of Commission for Racial Justice, which dealt with such issues. "When Joe Louis knocked out Max Schmelling, it did not knock out white racism. When Jackie Robinson hit 30-home runs it did not help Blacks get better jobs," Min. Muhammad said.

What Richard Williams has exposed is the re-trenchment of the white supremacist mentality, Min. Muhammad observed, adding, "Too often we have allowed the symbols of sports achievement to extrapolate for us as a people the real meaning of success, progress and advancement."

Agreeing with Min. Muhammad is Dr. Alvin Poussaint, director of the Media Center of the Judge Baker Children�s Center in Boston, maybe best known for his work as a consultant for the popular "Cosby" TV Show.

"By speaking up, Richard Williams is helping white America deal with their problems of race," said Dr. Poussaint, a noted psychologist.

"We should not be fooled into believing that white supremacy is dead in America. Serena and Venus Williams are not concerned with accommodating white attitudes. They wear the beads and they have the strong, powerful, elegant, chiseled look of Black queens, and that offends some whites," Dr. Poussaint told The Final Call. "And you know what the sisters say: �too bad folks, if you don�t like it,� " he said.

Richard Williams should be celebrated, not vilified, Dr. Poussaint added. "In a family-centered society such as ours, we have Black men like Richard Williams and Earl Woods, the father of Tiger Woods, who have shown the world the love they have for their families. They have devoted their lives to their children and cultivated their (children�s) talents. These men are true heroes."