Keith Strudler: Bad Boy, What You Going To Do?

When you’re a professional tennis player, and John McEnroe openly critiques your on court behavior, you know you have a problem. McEnroe was an original and infamous tennis bad-boy, enough to fuel a legacy of copycats and commercials. If bratty tennis was a copy machine, John McEnroe was Xerox.

Which makes his criticism of Nick Kyrgios that much more meaningful. McEnroe called him everything from immature to lazy throughout course of his first round loss in the US Open to third seeded Andy Murray, who won in four sets with minimal drama, a key in launching a long run through a rigorous tennis major. Krygios is far more talented than his seed, or lack of one would indicate. He is physically gifted, he made the quarterfinals of two majors in 2014, and knocked off former world number one Rafael Nadal last year at Wimbledon. And at 20 years old, he should be at the ascendancy of a meteoric rise.

Yet the rising star is far better known for his antics than his athleticism. That point was punctuated by his match against the world number five ranked Stan Wawrinka, where on a changeover, Kyrgios made a crass and, in this venue at least, unrepeatable comment about Wawrinka’s girlfriend. In a sport where trash talk is common place, this exchange still stood out like plaids at Wimbledon. Kyrgios was universally denounced and warned sternly by tennis officials, who will fine and suspend the Aussie if it happens again. Which seemed to remind us that there are still lines in sports, even if we can’t always see them. You can berate an official, destroy your racket, and otherwise cuss like a sailor, but you cannot insult someone’s love interest, which, I suppose, is a refreshing reality.

Then again, this isn’t Kyrgios’s only transgression, as it is. He’s mailed in matches, broken rackets, and yelled at officials. He was a bad boy at best, and now he’s more outcast than outspoken. And, perhaps most egregious to Mr. McEnroe, his tennis is as unpredictable as his behavior. At one moment he’s a brilliant shot maker with great court coverage, the next he’s missing baselines by the length of airport hangar. He’s known to rush his game and play for style over substance. He’s the antithesis of tennis etiquette, where dress codes exemplify a larger ethos of respect and protocol.

All of which caused John McEnroe, the posterchild for bad behavior, to verbally lambaste Nick Kyrgios on ESPN throughout his short stay at the US Open. He questioned his maturity, his commitment, and pretty much turned the broadcast into a counseling session. And it’s not as if Mac doesn’t know his subject. In fact, just a week prior, he teamed up with Kyrgios in doubles at McEnroe’s charity tennis event to raise money for John’s program to build American youth tennis.  At that very event McEnroe both praised and cautioned his young partner, offering advice towards his future. Clearly, McEnroe wasn’t pleased with how his lessons were received.

Which brings us to an obvious point. Bad behavior and sports have been inseparable constructs since the advent of curse words. We tolerate, expect, sometimes even laud athletes who cross the lines of good decorum, especially if it’s in the name of competitive desire.  But the unwritten rule is that brutishness must underscore athletic effort. In fact, some of our most revered tennis players regularly acted like impish toddlers – McEnroe, Connors, even Serena Williams sometimes. But no one, literally no one ever accused them of disrespecting the game or competitive disinterest. Their angst, while at times uncomfortable to watch, stemmed from an almost addictive need to win everything all the time. If that meant belittling your opponent or official or occasionally throwing some of your equipment, well, we accepted that. If it meant treating the line judge like a war criminal, well that’s okay. Once Serena essentially threatened to shove a tennis ball down an official’s throat after a questionable foot fault. And Connors nearly started a fight with McEnroe on the court. Even the statesmanlike Roger Federer has lost his cool during a match, although admittedly with more dignity than most. But there’s a big gap between the overzealous antics of obsession and the rebellious nonsense of Nick Kyrgios.

See, in sports, especially in tennis, even misbehavior has rules, like the rules of war, I guess. Kyrgios better learn them soon, if he hopes to have anyone on his side in the clubby world of elite tennis. If not, as John McEnroe has made clear, he’ll have really big problem.

 
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