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Gatorade Quick To Honor Serena Williams With Congratulatory Ad After 21st Slam Title

After Serena Williams clinched the Wimbledon ladies singles title on Saturday, Gatorade quickly followed up with a congratulatory ad. The spot, in which she describes the burden of being the world's top-ranked player, opens with Williams walking onto the court as her voiceover says, "People are going to expect you to win every time you step out on a court. It's going to be bigger news for you to lose than for you to win, but that's a privilege. That's what we play for." The spot then switches to a screen showing the message, "Congrats on 21, Serena," referring to her 21st Grand Slam victory, before closing by showing the Gatorade logo (THE DAILY).

WHERE IS THE LOVE? In Oakland, Marcus Thompson II wrote our nation's appreciation of Williams "doesn't match her greatness." Williams' status "should be at young Tiger Woods' level." She is "LeBron James with a racket," or "Messi on a tennis court." But from a "beloved perspective, in her own sport she trails Maria Sharapova by a mile, just as she did Anna Kournikova." Williams' legacy, in the mind of many, is "cat suits and celebratory dances and debates about whether she's too bootylicious." Unfortunately, her status "speaks to how the nation at large views women athletes." No matter the "feats accomplished, no matter the quality of the play, the female professionals can't get half the love men receive" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 7/12). ESPN’s LZ Granderson said, “Her very presence at the top of this sport at this time is a political statement because she touches on race, she touches on gender, she touches on what it means to be a strong woman, what it means to be a beautiful woman. ... So many different conversations come from the simple fact that this dark-skinned, impactful, successful black woman is at the top of what has been known as a privileged, white sport” (“Breakfast at Wimbledon,” ESPN, 7/12).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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