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Tennis star Serena Williams is getting picked on right and left this morning for allegedly locking herself in her home's panic room when a tennis association sent a drug tester to her house unannounced. Unable to identify the man at the door, she dove for the safety of a locked room. To all of you laughing, two words: Monica Seles.
Remember the Hungarian superstar who was stabbed back in the '90s? That happened on the court in the middle of a match! Tennis star stalkers do not mess around! And here Serena was with a mystery man at the door.
I don't care how badass she is with some powerful muscles to propel her swing. If the guy had been someone other than who he turned out to be, maybe she could have defended herself. But then again, she could have hurt the body that she uses to make her living in the process. She made the right decision.
Remember, Williams herself has been a victim to stalkers. Just this past spring, a man was arrested on the grounds of her Florida estate. Williams had filed a temporary restraining order against Patenema Ouedraogo, but he still had the audacity to waltz onto her property where he was stopped by her security guards. Those are guards she has for good reason. Just as the panic room is there for good reason.
As it turned out, Serena's assistant (who I'm going to hope made it into the panic room too) called 911, and the cops verified that the guy just wanted the tennis player's urine (and not for anything freaky!).
Internet access has made stalking celebrities that much easier (dare we mention Cristiano Ronaldo's alleged email scandal just this past week?), and put people like Williams in ever more danger. So you can go ahead and laugh at Serena for overreacting or accuse her of trying to avoid a pee test because she's got something to hide. I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and applaud her for being street smart.
I'd rather read about a cautious celebrity than a dead one any day, how about you?
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