As Wimbledon approaches, it's time to give Richard Williams his due. The father of tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams has been characterized as a kook, a nut, a crazy and even a racist by much of the media. But now he's the one laughing as his daughters are ranked number one and number two in the world of professional women's tennis. This marks the first time in the history of tennis that two siblings have been ranked so highly. Their play and accomplishments can be rightly attributed to their father, who rashly predicated many years ago that his daughters would achieve this ranking.
Williams was seen as a man who was too overprotective and controlling. He was described as being arrogant and a braggart. And many people cheered against his daughters because of him.
The Williams sisters have fielded their share of accusations: that they tank matches and pull out of play when they had to face each other or when it looked like they might be in for a tough match. What's more, the daughters were outwardly ethnic at a time when many black athletes in nontraditional black sports shy away from their heritage. Commentators made catty remarks about their outfits, braids and color-coordinated hair beads.
But nothing got between Richard Williams and his daughters. He maintained his faith in their tennis abilities. In turn, when many were saying that the sisters should dump their father as their coach, they embraced him.
Now the two women are on top of the tennis world, with Venus ranked number one, and Serena ranked number two, after Serena beat Venus in the French Open to move up several places in the world rankings. "Hopefully we can build a rivalry and we'll be able to do this a lot," said 20-year-old Serena, 15 months younger than Venus. "Make a legacy, then retire champions." It's starting to seem likely, and all of a sudden Richard Williams' offbeat choices in training and managing his girls seem more brilliant than crazy.
Richard Williams should be congratulated on the leadership he has exercised in helping to raise his daughters, and for the many obstacles he has overcome. He raised his two dynamic tennis stars in the rough streets of Compton, Calif., shielding them from many of the problems there, such as drugs, gangs, peer pressures and many of the other issues that face black youth living in America's inner cities. He has also protected them from the burnout factor, which is not uncommon on the tennis circuit, by limiting their play and exposure in the beginning of their professional careers.
Like Richard Williams, there are millions of other black fathers who are helping to raise their children to be successes in a society that can be mean and cruel to black children. One of the untold stories of the new millennium has been the fatherhood movement within the black community, as men are fighting the disturbing stereotype of the do-nothing shiftless black man, who is not around for his children. Richard Williams was, and still is, around. In his own way, he is a role model. He is also prophetic, and his daughters' play at Wimbledon will be a testament to his vision.
Lee Hubbard is a San Francisco-based journalist. He writes about urban and cultural affairs for various publications and has contributed to the book, "After 911: Solutions for a Saner World'' (The Independent Media Institute, 2002). This column was produced for the Progressive Media Project, which is run by The Progressive magazine, and distributed by the Tribune News Service.