Fact check: Viral post did not come from tennis player Serena Williams
The claim: Tennis pro Serena Williams posted to social media that she is 'sick of COVID-19' and 'black vs. white,' among other things.
As athletes take a stand with the Black Lives Matter movement by bringing awareness on social media, a Facebook post appeared amid protests misrepresenting tennis player Serena Williams' view on racism.
A June 24 sharing of a screenshot of text expressing frustration with divisions over recent events is saying captioned "Serena Williams said it best. It's time to grow up and start acting like adults!"
“I’m sick of COVID-19. I’m sick of black vs. white. I’m sick of Democrats vs. Republicans. I’m sick of gay vs. straight. I’m sick of Christians vs atheists. I’m REALLY sick of the media. I’m sick of no one being allowed to think what they want & feel what they do without offending someone," the post reads.
The post further claims that the tennis icon wrote people should "stop thrusting your belief on others" and that she is sick of people "who call the cops when anyone does anything they don't approve of."
The claim continued to gain even more attention after NBA player Rudy Gobert shared the screenshot on Twitter and wrote "Couldn't have said it better myself! @serenawilliams." But he deleted the tweet after users in the comments noted the screenshot did not actually come from the Williams he tagged in the post, Yahoo Sports reported.
Post not connected to tennis star
The original post was shared by someone who is also named Serena Williams, but not the American tennis player whom users are referencing when sharing the screenshot.
The original post has over 175,000 shares from a user whose bio reads "Nope, not THAT Serena Williams." She also credited another user named Gina Torres for the post, from whom she reposted it.
Williams updated her profile picture since posting the text, which is why her profile now looks different from the screenshot being shared.
Williams did not respond to USA TODAY's request for comment on the matter.
The post does not appear on tennis player Serena Williams' official Facebook page or her Twitter account.
Williams speaks out against racial inequality
In recent weeks, the tennis champion has been vocal about the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed after a then-Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes.
Williams' recent posts do not follow the same message as the post claiming to come from the athlete.
On June 20, the professional athlete hosted a discussion on Instagram with Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative.
Days after Floyd's death, Williams tweeted, "Don't pretend there isn't a problem in America" quoting a Nike video on racial injustice. She also shared a video on her Facebook account on June 18 from the Equal Justice Initiative that she captioned "an important history lesson."
A representative for Williams has not yet responded to USA TODAY for comment.
Our rating: False
The text image being shared online did come from someone named Serena Williams, but not the professional athlete that users are claiming. The athlete has used her social media platforms to spread awareness on racial disparities and the post does not exist on her official accounts. We rate this claim as FALSE.
Our fact-check sources:
Serena Williams Facebook original post June 14
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Viral post did not come from tennis player Serena Williams
