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Who's wrong?

shopgirl78shopgirl78 member
in Parenting

 

Dad or Dvid Ferrer?

C&P:

David Ferrer was preparing to serve in his quarterfinal match against American Mardy Fish when the sound of a bawling child filled stadium court. The sixth-ranked Spaniard briefly paused, but decided to play through the noise.

Ferrer lost the point. Then he lost his composure. Looking in the general direction of the crying baby, Ferrer lobbed a ball into the crowd in frustration. He went on to lose the next point and four straight games capping a complete second-set meltdown.

ETA:  The rest of the story:

 

Given how bad Ferrer's groundstrokes were in the second set, it's no surprise that the ball didn't come close to hitting the baby. (Rimshot!)

Ferrer's actions were reckless and immature. It was a bully move borne out of frustration. He hit a ball in anger toward the crowd, which is never acceptable, particularly when it's at a defenseless child. He's lucky he didn't get a warning or a fine. He's even more lucky the ball didn't come close to hitting anybody.

Is all that out of the way? Good. Because while I believe everything in the previous paragraph, there's another big issue at hand: Who brings a baby to a tennis match?

There are two places babies don't belong: bars and any place where silence is greatly valued. Find a babysitter. Leave the child outside the stadium with your wife. Or, better yet, watch the match on TV. (But not in a bar.) Ferrer was wrong for overreacting, but the father is equally wrong for putting his child in that situation.

Fish defended Ferrer after the match. "He'd probably take that one back if he could," he said. "He's a very nice guy. Obviously flustered."

For his part, Ferrer didn't blame the baby for his meltdown, saying a bout of indigestion is what caused the collapse of his game. "[The crying baby] was in one moment of the match, but nothing special," he said. "It was not the problem."

No, the problem was Ferrer's boorish behavior, which was caused just as much by his decision to play through the noise than it was from the noise itself. The instant Ferrer thought he shouldn't serve, he should have backed away from the baseline to collect himself. When he lost the point, he seemed more frustrated at himself for playing rather than the child.

His warning shot worked, by the way. The child stopped crying after Ferrer launched the ball into the stands.

 


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Re: Who's wrong?

  • DandelionMomDandelionMom
    WTF.  You don't throw a ball at a baby.  Of course the parents shouldn't have a crying baby there but the player was out of line. 
    .
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  • acppaacppa

    I just read that.

    I think it's worse behavior to lob a ball toward a baby/toddler.  But really, the kid shouldn't have been there in the first place.  

    IMO the potential to hurt a kid outweighs stupidity.   

    Image and video hosting by TinyPic Image and video hosting by TinyPic
    Aiden 10.17.07 Emma 07.15.10
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  • jessicaclarejessicaclare member

    imageDandelionMom:
    WTF.  You don't throw a ball at a baby.  Of course the parents shouldn't have a crying baby there but the player was out of line. 

    This

    image
    Annelise 3.22.2007 Norah 10.24.2009 Amelia 8.7.2011
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  • crazynervouscrazynervous
    I can't believe security didn't ask the parent with the baby to leave.  The guy shouldn't have thrown a ball into the audience.
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  • Emiliana7Emiliana7

    imageDandelionMom:
    WTF.  You don't throw a ball at a baby.  Of course the parents shouldn't have a crying baby there but the player was out of line. 

    this really!

    But at least he didn't serve the ball into the baby!

    Tantrums from kids- bad, but forgivable; tantrums from adults (including athletes) very inappropiate and not forgivable.

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  • Cbidt's girlCbidt's girl
    A professional athlete should be able to block out external stimuli, and if s/he can't then the coach has failed.
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  • shouldbworkinshouldbworkin
    both, possibly.  Baby should have been removed as quickly as possible.  He could have waited until said baby was removed and asked that baby be removed if parents weren't being responsible.  Lobbing a ball at a baby, never ok.
    DS1 age 7, DD age 5 and DS2 born 4/3/12
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  • *Lu-Lu**Lu-Lu*
    He's just mad that he didn't stop play and address the baby crying.  He continued to play and lost and is looking for somewhere to lay the blame.  Ferrer is wrong.   Go Fish! 
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