Harsh lessons about life in America

Whenever white America wishes to excuse itself from any responsibility for affirmative action, it always raises talk of merit. The best must rise to the top unencumbered, they declare. But whenever a Black person rises to the heights of success, the detractors and defamers quickly take aim and fire their barbs, hoping to inflict wounds or kill success.

The assaults seem to be worse when the target is a family with a strong Black father. Such an attack has risen again with recent verbal assaults on Richard Williams and talented daughters Venus and Serena. The three of them have never been the darlings of the media, nor many fans of the lily-white world of professional tennis.

During the recent Indian Wells tennis tournament, Mr. Williams said he was called a �n----r� by white fans, who used racial slurs as they booed and taunted his family. One taunter told Mr. Williams it was too bad it wasn�t 1975. Back then they would have skinned him alive, the man said. Mr. Williams started to confront the man, but decided to walk away, fighting back tears. The director of the Indian Wells tournament told the media he cringed �when all that stuff was going on.� He didn�t say whether he did anything to stop it.

Mr. Williams� crime is that a Black man is not allowed to enjoy the happiness success brings. Even Tiger Woods couldn�t enjoy winning the Masters without golf pro Fuzzy Zoeller wondering aloud what meal the Black man would order for the official dinner.

This spate of problems started with an article in The National Enquirer that accused Mr. Williams of ordering one daughter or the other to lose games, which has apparently given legitimacy to these attacks�as if that tabloid is known for protecting the truth. But it seems to have been an excuse for groundless speculation and scathing criticism from sportscasters, tv hosts and newspaper columnists, most of whom somehow blame the Williamses for the attacks: The family is too arrogant; they aren�t media friendly; the father �controls� his daughters.

The problem isn�t with the Williamses, but with a society where white privilege is the norm and Black men aren�t supposed to develop their children. This society believes there should be some nice white benefactor who took the girls from the ghetto to greatness. The other problem, as Mr. Williams noted, is jealousy. Unable to beat the Williams� sisters on the court, opponents are jealous of their success, the father said. Richard Williams also again denied ever having his girls throw a tennis match.

Sports are often used to teach lessons and a serious lesson is found here: Black people are not supposed to escape from white control, whether in business, politics, religion or even sports.

Blacks who excel in any endeavor, in this case sports, must be on guard for the attacks from their co-workers, bosses, fans and even the media. The Williams family must be strong enough to stay united and not let the criticism and distractions ruin their game or their unity.

If they fall apart, the naysayers then will say: �See, we told you so.�