Too bad she's a she

If Serena Williams isn't the lead story on ESPN, there's something wrong. She's not, by the way, the US men's basketball team was. I'm tired of preaching about the inequality in this country towards female athletes compared to their male counterparts. There is no more dominant athlete in the world, right now, male or female, than Serena Williams. If Serena had a penis and was named Sam, he'd be touted as the greatest athlete ever. She doesn't, of course, and is merely an afterthought in a world filled with Tigers and LeBrons and Phelps. It's not fair. Serena won the Olympic gold medal today in tennis. She beat Maria Sharapova 6-0, 6-1. I repeat, she beat Sharapova, the highest-paid female athlete in the world and former world No. 1, 6-0, 6-1. If you don't know much about tennis and you're not sure what that score means, let me explain - 6-0, 6-1 is an ass kicking. Serena beat world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-2. She beat former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki 6-0, 6-3. She beat former grand slam finalist Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-0. She beat some Polish chick 6-2, 6-3 and she beat Jelena Jankovic, yet another former No. 1 player in the world, 6-3, 6-1. How dominant is that? She didn't drop a set, didn't lose more than three games in a set. She's won 17 matches in a row and 21 consecutive sets. Tiger Woods has never dominated like that. Michael Phelps has never been this dominant. Neither has LeBron or Kobe or Federer or Nadal or Tebow or any other athlete in the world. When a man, any man, runs over every other man in his sport, he's praised for his supremacy, elevated to almost God-like stature. When a woman, any woman, runs over every other woman in her sport, the other competitors are mocked and her accomplishments are diminished because of a lack of competition. It's a shame, really. You'd think in the year 2012, greatness would be appreciated no matter what form it came in. Title IX was a start. Without it, there would be no Serena Williams. But, you can't legislate sexism and gender bias. Those things are here to stay. It's too bad. Because all of the people who dismiss Serena Williams because she's a she and not a he, are missing out on one of the most dominant athletes of our lifetime.