Curses! Serena Williams, Roger Federer & Ernie Anastos Teach Our Kids How (Not) To Behave

By Diane Clehane

Most parents I know are pretty vigilant about what they let their children watch on television. In my house, Noggin is the network of choice for my four-year-old—and she rarely watches it alone. We’re very careful not to expose her developing mind to glimpses of Mommy and Daddy’s shows in the event she might see or hear something she shouldn’t.

Up until last week, we didn’t have to worry if she happened to walk in on the middle of a tennis match or a few minutes of a newscast.

Thanks, Serena Williams, Roger Federer and—I can’t believe I’m writing this—Ernie Anastos —for showing my daughter how not to behave. Don’t even get me started on Kayne West.

You should all be ashamed of yourselves.

Let’s start with the formerly oh-so-civilized US Open. For the first time in many years, I found myself riveted by some great tennis during the semi-finals and actually had carved out some time to watch a few matches. Making sure my daughter had plenty of crayons and stickers to keep her busy at a table nearby, I settled in on the couch to catch Serena and Roger in action.

Just as Serena started her meltdown in which she let the expletives fly at a lineswoman, going so far as to threaten her by saying she would “shove the ball down her f---g throat,” my daughter bounded over to show me her latest creation. (This, after an earlier display by Williams of grace under pressure when she slammed her racket on the court and broke it.) My daughter caught my shocked expression and immediately turned her attention to the television. “That lady is really mad, Mommy,” she said.

Well, my daughter was half right. Williams was livid but she certainly is no lady.

After muting the sound, I calmly explained that “This woman is very upset but she is not acting appropriately. This is very bad behavior.” I didn’t even take on the swearing since I was sure my daughter hadn’t heard it, even though the sportscaster commentating the match did later say that the network’s “sensitive” microphones had picked up all of Williams’s vitriol for all CBS viewers to hear. I was compelled to explain to a four-year-old what “unsportsmanlike” means. “So that’s when someone does something that’s not nice because they didn’t win?” she asked, looking confused. “Why?”

I’d like to know the answer to that one myself.

Over to you, Serena. I doubt that, even when she writes the check for the $10,000 fine she has to pay for her potty mouth, she’ll give it a second thought. If her past behavior is any indication, Williams will surely paint herself the victim, whining about being singled out because of “who I am.”

On the heels of Williams’s disgusting spectacle came Roger Federer’s temper tantrum during his match with Juan Martin Del Potro in which Federer, clearly under pressure, sparred with the chair umpire about his opponent’s right to challenge a call. The microphones picked up Federer uttering “I don’t give a s—t.” The outburst cost him $1,500 and a few fans. Go Del Potro!

My daughter wasn’t around for that one, but plenty of families at the match and those gathered around the television were given yet another opportunity to talk to their kids about how not to behave.

I doubt this is what Nike means by “Just Do It,” Roger and Serena.

And then, of course, there was Kayne West’s now infamous tantrum at MTV’s Video Music Awards which was undoubtedly witnessed by millions of teens and, let’s face it, tweens. When he stole the spotlight from Best Female Video winner Taylor Swift with his thuggish behavior, grabbing the mike from the stunned winner to declare that Beyonce had the “best video of all time,” even the seen-it-all-and-then-some audience booed. His lame attempt at damage control a few nights later on Jay Leno was pathetic. And shame on you, Jay, for pandering with that cheap, “What would your mom think?” question and then letting him perform afterward when he acted like the true hoodlum he is. I know I’m dating myself (what else is new?), but can you imagine Johnny Carson doing this?

The only good thing to come of the whole MTV debacle was that 19-year-old Taylor Swift, who was the model of graciousness and character during the entire episode and even afterwards during interviews, is more famous than ever for behaving better than any celebrity under fire in recent memory. Imagine that!

Swift earned the admiration of parents everywhere and, hopefully, more than a few kids, when she went on to perform live minutes later. By the time she returned to the stage at the close of the show to give her acceptance speech at Beyonce’s invitation, it was a rare moment when parents could actually feel good about having their kids watch celebrities in the act of being themselves. On MTV, no less.

These are the people that our children are seeing 24/7 in a culture whose appetite for celebrity (the bigger train wreck, the better) knows no bounds. If these people are celebrated—or, at the very least, given a pass—for their bad behavior, how can we expect our kids to respect any authority figures?

But this phenomenon isn’t limited to the heroes of Us Weekly.

Last week, I sat there stunned as Westchester dad and all-round good guy Ernie Anastos dropped the F bomb during a newscast. It’s still not clear why Anastos uttered an inexplicable phrase involving chicken which has gone viral and is surely being printed on thousands of T-shirts as I write this. And based on his lame apology, we still don’t know if he knew he was on the air when he uttered it. With this episode having made the local newsman one of this year’s biggest Internet celebrities, Anastos has joined the fraternity of idiots who has failed to see the true ramifications of his behavior.

For several years now, I’ve written a few pieces about my dismay about the general coarsening of our culture and how it is affecting our children. If the past month is any indication, we’re in some !?!%& trouble indeed.