Childish And Stupid

One week ago I had a post about Nick Kyrgios, the Australian tennis player managed to set up a new record regarding fines in tennis. He was fined with $113,000 in Cincinnati for his tantrum. He's famous for this kind of behavior and some believe he's exceptional talent is going to waste if he's not going to change his behavior. I said in my post that he should consider taking an anger management course or consult a specialist till it's not too late. At his age he should behave like a responsible adult and not like a 3 year old.

He's not the only one who can't control his anger. Serena Williams is also famous for her tantrums. In 2009 she was handed a then-record fine of $82,500 for telling a line judge, “I’ll take this ball and shove it down your throat.” While I was researching things for the post I mentioned above I saw a photo showing her pointing her fingers towards a tennis official while shouting very angry. As I said, you don't do that, ever.

I keep hoping we're not going to see any of these tantrums and ill-mannered scenes but I believe that's never going to happen. Today I saw another case in the news that is childish, stupid and makes you think.

source

Mike Bryan turned his racket upside down, held it like a rifle and pretended to shoot at the official who made a call that replays later showed was wrong. This happened at the U.S. Open on Sunday during a match he was playing with his brother against Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain and Federico Delbonis of Argentina. He knew exactly what he is doing as he's an adult, knew that all eyes were on him and he did it anyway. With this gesture he managed to set a new record as he was fined $10,000, the highest fine given to a male player during this year's U.S. Open. If you ask me, I would have preferred to see him set a very different kind of record.

In a statement to the New York Times, Bryan apologized for any offense he may have caused. "We won the point and the gesture was meant to be playful. But given the recent news and political climate I understand how my gesture could be viewed as insensitive. I promise that I will never do anything like this again." source

This gesture makes me question Bryan's education. A professional player who respects himself and the people around him would never do such a thing. At that level you can't afford to be childish or do stupid things. You're playing with your image. Maybe he thinks this is cool but it's not, he needs to grow up and after this fine maybe he will. I can appreciate him (or others doing these kind of things) as a player but not as a person.