Over the last few days, some amazing ATP Rogers Cup Tennis has been played at the Aviva Centre and the men are in town this year. Stars like Nadal, Anderson, and Canadians Shapovalov and Raonic are some of the big names to have graced the courts. The Rogers Cup has attracted some of the best tennis stars in history and some very attractive players over the years. It’s also attracted some fans showing their admiration for the players that’s nothing short of creepy and sexist. Some women fans say things about male players that men have been beaten down for over the last 18-months for saying things about women, especially with the #MeToo campaign, the Hollywood scandal and Harvey Weinstein, and the overall feminism movement. I’m talking about the amount of female cat calling and banter between other female friends about what they would, or, wish to do with some of the players in a sexual manner.
The other day at the practice court, Nadal was practicing right beside the new VIP area where fans are within meters of the players. Nadal was rounding up a bunch of balls and laying them on his racquet. An older woman beside me shouted to him and asked if she could get a photo of him holding his balls. She looked at me smiling and admitted she would let him do anything to her. I think she was kidding. She seamed to be drooling at him and got her best shots as Nadal’s rear-end was bending towards us. If this was Sharapova and men were lined up photographing her butt and sending comments her way about their dirty fantasies, I’m sure there would be an uproar, a rising, an Antifa march, or even worse, a hash-tag movement or SJW campaign.
At Center-court when Nadal was being introduced, naturally, a lot of fans get excited and many get out of their seats and rush forward towards the court to be closer to the players, get photos, and sometime cheer on their favourite players, after-all, it’s not every day your heroes are right in front of your face. A lot of the fans don’t seem to realize, or, don’t seem to care they are obstructing the people in the front row. Some of the very attractive women within two-feet behind me, began saying how hot he was and how one would screw Nadal all night, how big his balls look in his shorts (players put tennis balls in their short pockets) and it went on and on. After some of the comments they would look at us (photographers) and put on a cute face and smile, as if what they say is now acceptable. I’m curious to what the players think about some of the comments they hear.
I can imagine the uproar if the entire front row was blocked by enthusiastic horny young and old men with their cameras out, waiting for the butt shot, tongue wagging and joking to each other about their sexual desires towards female tennis players. The men would be shamed to the point of losing their careers. With the women doing it, it seemed like it was acceptable amongst them and that no harm was being done. How did this become acceptable to treat men like meat? Sexism goes both ways and men can certainly be offended and put on the spot.