Why Jason Whitlock is Wrong About Serena Williams

Leave it to sports columnist Jason Whitlock to take a glorious moment of athletic achievement and pervert into an overly simplistic and degrading evaluation of appropriate female booty size. Just two days after Serena Williams triumphed in her third Wimbledon win, this time over her big sister Venus, Whitlock comes out with a column slamming her body and athletic accomplishments:

With a reduction in glut, a little less butt and a smidgen more guts, Serena Williams would easily be as big as Michael Jackson, dwarf Tiger Woods and take a run at Rosa Parks.

You can call me unfair. You can even scream that I'm sexist.

But there's an inescapable truth about Serena Williams: She's an underachiever. Source: Serena could be the best ever, but, Foxsports.com

Serena Williams Transformation

Serena Williams Transformation
When Serena Williams came onto the tennis scene, she had a look of complete innocence. Being somewhat in the shadow of her older sister Venus, Serena wore the braids with beads that were both sisters' signature style. Serena would spend the next few years defining her own fashion identity. (Photo: HECTOR MATA, Getty Images)
Serena Williams Transformation
By the early 2000s, Williams made a name for herself apart from her sister as a player and superstar. She first set herself apart with bold, playful blonde hair, here against a strong monochromatic outfit. New to make up, Serena began expressing a more womanly presentation. (Photo: Lawrence Lucier, Getty Images)
Serena Williams Transformation
At the 2002 VH1 Vogue Fashion Awards, Serena took her femininity further. Her long tuxedo jacket is lined with blazing hot pink, creating a backdrop for her athletic legs. God bless her, this is a look only for the young. (Photo: Jim Spellman, WireImage.com)
Serena Williams Transformation
Serena's red carpet arrival at the 2003 ESPY Awards in a pink gown fit for Barbie showed the world that she could be aggressive on the tennis court and girly on the red carpet. While she wins no points for the cut, color or fit of this gown, Williams deserves kudos for her confidence in striking a pose. (Photo: Gregg DeGuire, WireImage.com)
Serena Williams Transformation
Looking not so pretty in pink, Ms. Williams attended a 2004 fashion event hosted by superstar designer Robert Cavalli in a dress fit for a champion. Champion ice skater, that is. (Photo: Evan Agostini, Getty Images)
Serena Williams Transformation
One place where Serena's fashion sense has never failed has been on the tennis court. Here we see her wearing one of her many famous "extreme" tennis outfits. Williams looks like a futuristic ninja. (Photo: AP)
Serena Williams Transformation
Serena's red carpet fashion sense stunned the world, despite her high style on the courts. Her 2004 appearance at a VH1 event in a blue, bedazzled gown was one of many that left people wondering if she was really a drag queen. (Photo: Carlo Allegri, Getty Images)
Serena Williams Transformation
Ever proud of her body, her accomplishments and who she was, a girl from Compton who made REAL good, Serena Williams was never ashamed to look exactly how she wanted to. She even wore bikinis with bravado. (Photo: Ron C. Angle, BEImages)
Serena Williams Transformation
As her star rose, Serena became a fixture of Hollywood, taking her Barbie-manbot look there, pink puff and all. She was accepted with open arms, literally, dating famed director Brett Ratner in 2005. (Photo: Getty Images)
Serena Williams Transformation
Despite being photographed constantly in designer gowns, Serena Williams was still a child at heart. Here she hangs out in a totally casual look at home with her dogs. (Photo: Animal Fair Media, Getty Images)

Whitlock's pronouncement is insulting and uninformed. Let's take the insult first. Whitlock attacks Serena's beautiful, very muscular body indicating that it is in some way less than efficient - he basically calls her fat.

But he has no way of knowing Serena's muscle to bodyfat ratio. Because Serena is muscular, even a relatively low percentage of body fat will make her appear many times bigger than a less muscular, European competitor.

I may be an off season female bodybuilder carrying excess bodyfat right now, but even when I'm very lean, many people presume my size is mostly fat instead of rock hard muscle. Serena is solid, not a thing jiggles as she covers the court. That Whitlock has the gall to attack the size of her muscular derriere recalls historical subjugation of the black female body and he establishes no factual link between Serena's on court performance and her current weight. For instance, Serena may hit harder carrying a few pounds, and she certainly moves well. And if she was a little slow, maybe it was the hamstring injury she may have been dealing with?

God gave Serena everything, including drop-dead looks. She's chosen to smother some of it in an unsightly layer of thick, muscled blubber, a byproduct of her unwillingness to commit to a training regimen and diet that would have her at the top of her game year-round.

[and later]

BBWs - Big Booty Women - do not write me angry e-mails. I'm only knocking Serena's back pack because it's preventing her from reaching her full potential as an athletic icon. I am not fundamentally opposed to junk in the trunk, although my preference is a stuffed onion over an oozing pumpkin.

(A stuffed onion is a booty so round and tight that it brings tears to your eyes).

I'm sorry. I digress. Source:Fox Sports on MSN

"Oozing pumpkin." If you do not know who Saartjie "Sarah" Baartman (1789 – 29 December 1815), aka "Hottentot Venus" was, then please click on the link and learn. There is a legacy of dissecting the black female body in this degrading and dehumanizing way.

Now about Whitlock being uninformed. As a muscular athlete, I can tell you conditioning is just one factor in achieving peak performance. At her level, only Serena and her trainers and doctors know where ability and performance intersect for her. Mental toughness, pain tolerance, genetic physical issues are all factors that affect performance. Booty size is really irrelevant in the scheme of things.