ESPN’s Jemele Hill: Double Standard Exists for How Men and Women Show Emotion

On Saturday, ESPN2’s “His & Hers” co-host Jemele Hill reacted on “Melissa Harris-Perry” to tennis great Serena Williams, who gave an emotional post-game interview after falling in the semi-final to Roberta Vinci at the women’s U.S. Open Friday.

Hill noted that male athletes are said to be being “ultra-competitive” when they are emotional after games or matches, while women take criticism for it, especially for a “black woman,” because it “fits the narrative of them being angry and emotional and all those other kinds of stereotypes.”

“Well, [Serena Williams], of course, took a lot of criticism for how she handled that press conference, but this is the box that they put a lot of female athletes in. When men do that, it’s being ultra competitive and they’re taking the game to heart. When women do that, especially a black woman, it begins to fit a certain narrative of them being angry and emotional and all those other kinds of stereotypes.”

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