CNN interviewed Serena Williams when she was 9. Here’s what she said, as told to “Fox & Friends”:
MADDOW: Why are you so upset about these comments [from Serena Williams]?
WILLIAMS: Because it’s a game, and we shouldn’t play it this way. It’s not about us. How can we not be upset? And we do have to be outraged at the behavior that we do see everyday on the court. And it’s not even that I’m upset. You know what’s even more disappointing is, every time I lose a tennis match, I can’t take in that moment because I know that I’m going to have to play the next day. But you have to realize that I am playing on top of it.
MADDOW: So why is it just a game?
WILLIAMS: Why is it just a game? And here I am in my 8th year playing tennis, and I have always had that mindset that if I’m playing tennis, why not be the best, why not be the greatest? I shouldn’t have to apologize for that at all. And because of you men, I have to take in that, “Oh, look at me, I’m not like all the other women,” and I’m not like all the other women. I’m just a woman. There’s nothing wrong with that.
MADDOW: But you’re so good at it that you get to be like a goddess.
WILLIAMS: I mean, I’m a princess. I have to get that. So yes. I’m not like all the other women. As far as that goes, you know my whole life, I’ve been that way. I don’t want to be anybody else. And I think a lot of people that don’t understand, you know, this is my life. My whole entire life, and I’ve been in tennis for so long, and I’ve been that way ever since I was little. And I think if we all can respect our journey and not judge people, not judge a person on gender, or not judge them on how they look, or not judge them on things that they do, then we can be in a better place. And I think for years and years, people have judged, they’ve talked about me being the greatest tennis player ever, because I’ve won.
MADDOW: You’ve won