Yes, this is the same Nastase that has a big problem with women. But it’s not just women. When he was paired in a double with the first black tennis man to win US Open and Wimbledon, Ashe, Nastase donned a blackface. Supposedly to show his solidarity with the former antiracist fight, but really?!
And now, after having accused Serena Williams of doping (with no proof), he jokes that the baby she’s expecting will be “milk chocolate”.
Ilie Nastase shares a problem with race that many other white men seem to have. They refuse to accept that such jokes are off-limits, motivating with “it’s funny” or some other dimwitted reasoning. That’s because they don’t get that the racism barometer is not the joker’s, but the target’s sensitivity. And he’s unrepentant.
Yes, I know that male environments (and especially Romanian society) deal with difficult issues by making fun of them, often in cringe worthy moments, until any (hyper)sensitivity to such topics is erased. But that doesn’t work with sexism, racism and homophobia – left unchecked, they drive their targets into the ground and rob them of the chance to a normal life.
Me personally, I don’t find such jokes racist (nor do I find them funny, they’re clichés that keep getting repeated) – but that doesn’t matter, because I’m not black. Racism is so pervasive and insidious that we can allow a victory for the PC crowd in this matter. And refusing to accept this societal compromise recommends you as a total and complete asshole.
As if that comment was not enough, he makes a point out of flirting with the UK team’s captain, who is married and also expecting a baby, by loudly asking for her room number. Quite appropriately, the press has called this moment “cringe worthy”.
Finally, he loses it during a match. Upset that the visiting team had convinced the umpire to request that the public quiets down, he calls both the captain with whom he flirted earlier and the UK tennis player b***h. He even insults the umpire and he is now, rightfully so, investigated by the ITF.
Some Romanian commentators see the request to the Constanta public (Halep’s hometown) to STFU as incorrect and interfering with their right to support their favorite, but still, that does not leave Nastase off the hook.
Furthermore, his antics are counterproductive. The Romanian side may have had grounds to file a complaint against the umpire, if tennis “gallery” is permissible and to be expected. But this way, he consumed any moral advantage in a poor quality show with and about himself.
Now imagine you’re a Romanian tennis player. You worked hard to get where you are and you play to win. You’re good and you wait for your spot in history. And from behind comes Nastase and rests his dick on your shoulder. Isn’t that wonderful?
Luckily, Simona Halep saved the day by winning first against Heather Watson, then against Konta as well. And it’s also true that Konta is a bit of a crybaby.
Sorana Cirstea lamented in the press conference the stopping of the game when her opponent started crying (gsp-sorana).
“OK, at 2-1 Ilie was eliminated, but why did Johanna begin to cry at 3-1? And why was the match stopped? Is there such a rule - that if you cry the game must be stopped?
Nobody told me anything. I went to the supervisor and asked him how long the break was, whether to stay on the field or not, and he said he did not know. In that moment there was only the Great Britain team, we had ceased to exist. Johanna came afterward and told me she was sorry, but she felt threatened.
The supervisor told me that because of what Ilie had said, but she claimed that people in the audience addressed her with injurious words. I played all over the world, I was made "gypsy", they threw objects in the field, the spectators showed me the cut-throat gesture and were even ready to enter the field.
But I never started crying. I do not find it normal, especially since the audience was fair-play. What can you do, we are a small nation, and the ITF headquarters are in London. They came here set on this thing, and we are accustomed to being persecuted. If they still wanted to stop the game, why did not they do it at 2-1 but at 3-1 I had a break?” Sorana told the press conference.
... about the incident yesterday, when Năstase asked the captain of Great Britain for her room number: “It was a joke, everybody saw that. Even Anne laughed yesterday, knowing it was a joke. They laughed together while posing for the photo. Ilie comes from another time, when there weren't so many rules. Unfortunately, now there's a lot.”
But you know what? Maybe I got it all wrong. Maybe this game is mostly psychological and he plays it to his and his team’s advantage like no other. Maybe he’s done what a captain has to do, “having his team’s back”, fighting against injustice through controversy and publicizing his team (even though Sorana Cirstea ended up losing to Konta, much like Bouchard to Dulgheru). Maybe there’s no such thing as bad publicity (though Pepsi and United Airlines might disagree). Maybe his crap helped the Romanian team. What do you think?
It’s also nice to know that not all Romanians complain. A “deep Romania” news outfit gives the French as an example for how they fight to protect their crops instead of simply crying for handouts (boto-chablis).
LE: men who use sexist humor have psychological problems
Disparaging jokes are often used to reinforce one’s position as part of an in-group by clearly separating them from an out-group.
Researchers from the Western Carolina University in the US conducted two experiments with 387 heterosexual men.
(..)
The results of the study suggest that men who hold more precarious manhood beliefs - particularly when they feel their masculinity as defined by typical gender norms is being challenged - are more likely to use sexist and anti-gay jokes to provide self-affirmation.
Sources / More info: tlg-nast, dm-nastase, Fed Cup 2017: Jo Konta in tears after being abused by Ilie Nastase, m-halepkonta, bbc-halepkonta, msn-awkward, dm-kontatears, gsp-sorana, boto-chablis