umpire abuse has been fetishized by immortal video clips from McEnroe and Connors, and the fact that this latest scene will get played repeatedly on major sports networks actually works against getting it under control.
it's amazing how passive and meek tennis officials seem to be while getting screamed at, called names or threatened, like it's just baked into the culture. NHL refs have a history of involving themselves too much in the game at times, but they are not afraid to put the hammer down if someone steps over the line.
tennis has given too much leeway to its stars and their personalities (unless you want to skip a press conference then you're toast), officials need to be empowered to do their job without fear of retribution. if an NHL player has a beef with a particular ref, it's not like they can demand that ref not be used for any of their games, but it's something that happens regularly behind the scenes in tennis.
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