SportsLine.com wire reports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Jennifer Capriati was dropped from the U.S. Fed Cup squad Friday night for scheduling a private practice session in violation of captain Billie Jean King's team policy.

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Ouch!! Seems kind of harsh for simply scheduling (not holding it) a private practice session...

Sounds like BJK has issues.

[ April 27, 2002: Message edited by: CowboysHskrFan ]

[ April 27, 2002: Message edited by: CowboysHskrFan ]

Sounds to me like JenCap can't follow rules!! And probably shouldn't play team sports if she can't follow a team leader.

It's not like Billie Jean King made the Fed Cup rules; she's just supposed to adhere to them. Everyone who has ever played Fed Cup had to follow these rules - and these names include some better players than JenCap.

For Jen to schedule a practice after the coach tells her it prohibited from Fed Cup rules. That's pretty insubordinate. But you gotta love Jen's prepared statement that she "strongly protested the directive (not to practice)". I'm sure she told BJK to piss off.

She got what she deserved. Her bratty behavior is finally catching up to her. (Perhaps she should ease up on those steroids - just kidding).

I'm almost positive that BJK made the practice rule, and that it is not a fed cup rule! This is not the 1st time King kicked a player off the team, she kicked Gigi Fernandez off the team a few years ago, for "conflicts of interest" Fernandez was the #1 doubles player in the world, but also Conchita Martinez's gal pal. (US was playing Spain)

Are we wondering if we know the whole story? I don't think we do. On the surface, an extra practice doesn't makes sense as a reason to kick someone off the team, especially a top player like JenCap. We all know what a crabby diva she's been on the court as of late, perhaps unfortunate words were exchanged between BJK and JC...I'm sure BJK isn't someone who takes any crap from anyone especially when it comes to her Fed Cup. This is quite a little brouhaha and I hope we get to hear more details....I think Seles and the team still won't have much problem getting past Austria, but what about the next round? Can BJK actually get a Williams sister to play for someone other than herself? Stay tuned...

I agree, Bryan. I'm sure we don't know the whole story. On one hand, Capriati can still be a bit bratty; on the other, I've heard plenty of stories of BJK's control-freak, micromanaging ways. Unless somebody on the inside gives up a tell-all, exposé interview, we won't ever hear all the dirt.

And now Seles has lost her match to Schwartz..so the US is down 2-0 -- Seles is quoted as saying that she agrees with BJK's decision but that it made things difficult, and apparently distracting since the fans were booing BJK...what a drag, and seemingly unnecessary...hope they can pull out three wins tomorrow and salvage this unfortunate mess...

I think the problem is that we have a retired player trying to relive her glory, and has a control problem.

It seems like the Fed Cup and Davis Cup Captains think the event is about them, and not the FANS. The players recognize the fans more than the captains (McEnroe and King).

Just my opinion.

1 mile from Fenway, and how about the no-hitter....

I tend to listen to Monica's siding with BJK. Capriati's disingenuous comments make it clear that she's a brat. On the other hand, maybe I'm just going through a diva-hating period after Roddick's unsportsman behavior, the Bruins' mean-spirited check, and a general dislike for Capriati.
I think sports figures owe it to us to behave in a sportsmanlike fashion. Go BJK, do your thing!
If neither of the Williams is willing to play, that should be made public too.
Thank God for Rob Lowe.

[ April 27, 2002: Message edited by: Tom ]

It seems ludicrous to kick her out for scheduling an extra practice, not skipping practice, mind you, but for wanting an extra practice with her father?! Obviously, BJK was fed up with Jennifer all week and it erupted on the eve of the matches. From Seles' comments, she sounds very distracted and disturbed by these events. BJK should think hard about her actions, her formidable team is now 0-2 against an unheralded country. These fed cup captain issues are simply not good for the US teams.

How important, really, is this entire Federation Cup competition? Not important enough to go to the finals last year. The Williams sisters were playing in Europe last year immediately before the finals, so the fear of traveling/fear of representing the US excuse doesn't fly. I think Fed Cup is just silly.

That said, what a dumb personal rule that you can't practice more than the "team" practices. Obviously both Billie Jean and Capriati pitched fits. Hopefully, the Austrians triumph and we can forget about the Fed Cup this year anyway.

I'm all for supporting national teams, but not the Davis Cup and Fed Cup, competitinos that cannot even interest the top players in the US.

What a grouch tonight!

It seems to me a peculiar rule. I'm trying to figure out whether it was made out of fear that players wouldn't take the team practices seriously, or would skip team practices, or maybe overtrain and exhaust themselves. In any event, it seems like a dumb reason to boot her from the team to me.

With regard to Monica's comments--remember that she probably doesn't like Capriati much, after the grunting flap. And that she is still on the team and, therefore, not in a good position from which to criticize BJK.

Welcome to team sports everybody. For those unacustomed to this variety of sport, there is a hierarchy of authority. Rule one: Listen to the coach. Rule two: adhere to the coach's rules. Rule three: don't piss off the coach.

The Coach is just acting in the best interests of the Team. Fed Cup and Davis Cup are unique in that the team depends on eachother's results AND that the players are allowed to be coached throughout the match. For those keeping score at home, they can be coached on the sidelines by the designated team coach. If Billie Jean and Jenny don't trust each other's judgement going into the match, then the sideline coaching relationship will fall apart.

Among other reasons, the players are not allowed to practice outside the team practice because the coach is spending the week establishing team strategy and game philosophy. The coach doesn't want the individual players to bring in their own coaches and counter act any determined game plan.

From what I read, Billie Jean offered Jenny more pracitce time. Jenny declined. Then she went about planning a practice with her own coach and apparently a high school player.

Incidentally, although the rules say Jenny could be reinstated in later rounds (we'll see if that's even relevant later today), Jenny has previously stated she was only interested in playing the first round of the Fed Cup. I take that to mean she was never interested in going the distance with the team in the first place.

Billie Jean is acting like any typical coach with ambitions for her team. She really is pushing for team tennis. I don't think previous comments that these are retired players who are trying to make it about themselves is valid in the slightest.

Let's hope Shaugnessy can find her form and start living up to her potential again. She's a great player but is not having a great season. Today could be a huge confidence booster for her if she can keep her country in the running.

I agree with the Tops/Bottoms editorial. Tennis is fundamentally NOT a team game. Except for the doubles, the players don't play with each other at all, so there's no real need for them to practice singles together at all. I don't believe that "team unity" wins matches. What does win matches is play on the court, and if the players feel that their play is best maximized by playing under the supervision of their regular coach rather than BJK, then that's what they should do.

I am trying real hard to understand the intent of BJK's rule.

I see no real harm (except for possible injury, which can happen anywhere anyway) in scheduling an additional practice session.

Whatever her concern was, it surely does not justify putting the entire team on the brink of elimination.

I have to come to Billie Jean’s defense once more, guys. We can’t say what rules are or aren’t stupid if we don’t know all the details.
Here’s what teammates say (from a Reuters report in the ESPN web site):
"Jennifer should have approached the rest of the team if she wanted some help with the situation, but she didn't," team member Monica Seles said Saturday night. "She was the one causing all the disruption during the week. She didn't leave us in a great situation and it was very unfair."
Seles' teammate, Lisa Raymond, said, "Jennifer never approached any of us. We certainly hoped the situation was salvageable. We thought everyone was on the same page and obviously we weren't."
Meghann Shaughnessy, who will replace Capriati in Sunday's singles match, said, "We have team rules and Jennifer decided not to follow one of them. That's the bottom line."

The US has lost to Austria. Schwartz has defeated Shaughnessy.

The story: http://msn.espn.go.com/tennis/news/2002/04...28/1375250.html

I think the fault for the loss has to be placed squarely on Billie Jean's shoulders. She should know that you do not take world-class athletes, thoroughbreds all, and dictate rules that are contrary to their routines and practice habits the other fifty-one weeks of the year. To kick JCap off the team because she wanted to practice MORE is mindboggling to me. As for the coda about following the rules without ever questioning them, Billie Jean might be wise to remember that if she herself had lived by that mantra women's tennis today would be about as relevant as the Pillsbury Bake Off.

Three boos for Billie Jean King and her ego....

Americans are down and out....

What a sad situation. Even though Fed Cup is the highlight of BJK's life these days, it is not the top priority for the players. Getting players to commit has been difficult, and now we see why.

Would Tiger Woods be treated so poorly at the Ryder Cup? NO

As I said before, BJK forget's that tennis is about the fan's, not the players and definately not the Fed Cup Captain.

Once again, the fans lose because of someone's ego - BJK.

Billie Jean is on an obvious power trip. And she is coaching Fed Cup like its World Team Tennis. If I'm the number 2 player in the world, I think I know best as to how I should practice. The other girls really didn't have a choice but to quasi-support BJK's decision, so I don't give their statements much weight.

OK, while I admit up front that I don't know all of the particular details about this situation, this is what I do know (from reports on the wire)
1) BJK had a rule
2) JenCap broke it

While I can certainly agree that Jen might know what works best for her, and that for the most part tennis is not a team sport, the FedCup period IS a team situation. She is a member of the USA squad, captained by BJK. She is not just Jennifer Capriati playing in some random tournament. I'm with BJK for dropping her...if she doesn't make the statement that rules are there for a reason and if the rules are broken, you are gone then she has lost control.

Does a coach need to assess the situation and react in the best way for her team? Absolutely. People can place the blame on BJK all they want. In my opinion, the blame falls on JenCap. She knew the situation and the system and made a conscious choice not to follow the guidelines BJK had set up. If she didn't like them, she didn't have to play. A number of players didn't sign up to play, so it's not like it was a requirement to play. (Digress for a second, ANYTIME you are called to play for your national team you BETTER have a good reason not to play or that's a serious problem in my book but I'll save that for another day.)

So...JC didn't have to play if she didn't like BJK's rules. She made the choice to break the rules. BJK followed through with her decision that had been made clear. No gray area here (from what is known). Rule broken, player cut (or had some kind of penalty). It happens all the time--or should more, in my opinion.

Another question...what is the difference between a coach/captain making a decision to do something and the player making a decision to do something? Why is BJK on a power trip and JenCap not on a power trip?

Her ex-teammates can whine all they want. They're captain kicked Capriati off for practicing too much. Can you imagine? Most coaches would love to get there players to practice more. Here's the #1 player in the world wanting to get better in an individual sport, and her captain tells her she can't. Good for Jennifer for sticking to her guns - bad for Billie Jean for sticking to hers.

Chip, there's no way any of the top three American players will adhere to BJK's rules. The real objection to Jen practicing was her working with her coach (and father) rather than BJK--and I bet Serena & Venus would insist on doing the same. And I still fail to see where "team strategy" that BJK supposedly works on is part of a singles match.

Maybe Jen is on a power trip, but realistically in this case, she IS bigger than the team. In fact, she's bigger than the whole event. If you were to poll people on the street, almost everybody will have heard of Capriati, I bet very few would have heard of the Federation cup until this happened. Realistically, when Seles' career is over, no one is going to remember how many federation cup matches she won.

Decided to avoid work this Monday morning to see what the folks on Outsports thought of the JCap mess....

I am shocked at how many people are taking up for Capriati. Jennifer is (and always has been, for that matter) a spoiled brat. She is fine when everything goes her way, but the minute she is bothered by something, she turns into a completely different person -- yelling at fans to answer their cell phones, cursing at umpires when she disagrees with calls, and GETTING HERSELF kicked off the Fed Cup team. Whether or not one understands why Billie Jean made a rule to keep players from practicing individually is irrelevant. She's the coach and that's the rule. Period. Nobody else on the team seemed to have any trouble understanding that fact. Granted, Jennifer's as dumb as a box of hair, but even she's not so stupid as to have been unaware of exactly what she was doing. She thought she could break the rules and get away with it because she is Jennifer Freakin' Capriati. Jennifer got exactly what she deserved.

Frankly, the fact that Monica was even remotely critical of Jennifer in the press is a big tip off. Monica never says a bad word about anybody!

I have to point out that as abrasive as Capriati can be in the heat of battle, it at least happens when something is on the line. From what I know, that's not the case with Billie Jean. I play tennis at a members-only club in Manhattan; the facilities are very nice - easily the nicest in Manhattan - and the club extends the courtesy of free court time and hitting sessions with the pros to tour players and other tennis "names" when they're in town. Apparently Billie Jean has relocated or is relocaing World Team Tennis Headquarters to NYC, so she's been in town a lot and regularly calls the club to ask for court time. What started as an occasional professional courtesy quickly degenerated into BJK demanding the end court, then demanding that the adjoining court not be booked so that she's not gawked at (there're only five courts, so she's demanding the club forego revenue from 40% of its courts), then saying she would hit for an hour but couldn't be there ON the hour, which meant the courts had to sit empty for TWO hours. Then she insisted on bringing her own hitting partner rather than use the club pros (sound familiar?), which is against the club rules (hey, rules are rules and should be followed, right?). The final straw was when she asked for a permanent locker. Now, permanent lockers are in short supply; I've been a club member for six years and only made it to the top of the waiting list about six months ago. And I PAY for my locker, as well as my annual membership, court time, and pro time. Apparently the wait is even longer for permanent lockers in the women's locker room. Billie Jean was told the club could not provide her with a permanent locker, and apparently she used profanity and was abusive toward the employee who told her this. The Club Manager apparently phoned her to tell her a) that the club insists on civil behavior from all members and guest, and to suggest that since she was using the facilities so regularly and availing herself of what is supposed to be an occasional privilege, she might want to think about joining the club at a reduced annual rate, with guest fees waived for her hitting partners. He was going to point out that this is the arrangement the club has with former pros like Patrick McEnroe and Tony Trabert, but Billie Jean refused to take his call. As I understand it, he now refuses to honor her requests for free court time and hitting privileges, as well.

Billie Jean made the right decision. Everyone in tennis knows that Stefano Capriati is an ass****, and I'm sure he made BJ's life hell all week.

BJ asked Jennifer if she needed additional practice time, and she answered no she did not. This is JEN's EGO trip. King's rules were no different than Pat Mac's for Davis Cup and no one critizes him as being on an ego trip. The other players understood the rules.

Dumb as a box of hair? I've never heard that one used before. I would have used dumb as dirt.

[quote]Originally posted by Cyd at Outsports:
Her ex-teammates can whine all they want. They're captain kicked Capriati off for practicing too much. Can you imagine? Most coaches would love to get there players to practice more.

---

I will repeat this part of the story. Billie Jean offered Jenny more practice time. Jenny declined it and then went on to schedule time with her coach and a hitting partner.

After a week of working with Jenny, Billie Jean probably didn't want another coach to come in and alter the game plan.

Cyd, we all know that Jenny was not penalized for trying to practice too much. That is just the silliest way to take this conflict out of context. She was penalized because she tried to bring in her own coach, undermining the team's coach.

Team tennis really is different. I know because I played it growing up. There is a very different mentality. If you haven't played it, please don't argue that there's no place for a team coach.

Reading more about it, Jennifer's account of the situation seems less than accurate. What it sounds like to me is that she was given a set of rules on Monday - rules which varied from previous Fed Cup rules - and was pissed off about them. She was desperate to have her dad/coach there during practices, and Billie Jean was all like "no way, sister."

On the one hand, it looks like Capriati brought this upon herself. However, I'm curious as to whether BJK could have made sure the situation never happened - by being extremely clear about the change in rules before JC ever got to Charlotte, and saying "can you follow these to the letter?" If JC could not, then they could have all found a way out of the situation. If I were in JC's place, I can pretty honestly say that I would have bitten my tongue and accepted whatever rules BJK imposed, no matter how wacko. But then again, if I were in JC's place, I may never have won three grand slams.

In any case, props to Barbara Schwartz. Beating Monica Seles and then Shaughnessy 9-7 in the third, surviving a match point in the latter, is worthy of praise. Monica should be the most embarrassed person out there. She's one of the greatest players in the history of the game? In the history of clay? Then block out the distractions and beat this chick!

And the final lesson we can learn from this experience is that Fed Cup in the USA could now be bigger than ever. Controversy, egos, that's what has made women's tennis so popular. Let's hope the folks in charge can capitalize on this scandal to keep Fed Cup in the consciousness of the American public.

Oh, and go Jennifer! You f**ked up this time, but you're still my favorite!

Munson Man:

Interesting story!!! I have never heard of it, but somehow it doesn't surprise me.

BJK comes across as very self-centered and a person who demands worship from the world for her defeat of an aging tennis has-been with a loud mouth.

Agreed. Props to Schwartz. I would have loved to watch that 9-7 decider. She took out two top players, under HUGE pressure by her compatriots.

And as much as I love Monica, I have to agree with you there too. She has had two bad losses on clay in a row now. I hope she's not going to ruin our hopes of her doing well at the French.

I don't think BJK expects "worship," but she certainly is owed some respect. Not only merely as the Fed Cup Captain -- which is as far as one need look in this circumstance -- but also given the fact that Jennifer Capriati and the rest of the WTA would not exist without her!

Besides, whether BJK is or is not a raving B*#@!, that's still not the issue. The issue is that JCap broke the rules and was punished accordingly.

And I stick with my assessment of Jennifer as dumb as a box of hair, although dumb as dirt certainly qualifies as well. That's what happens when you have loads of talent and an 8th Grade education.

Interesting response by Munson Man. Quite arrogant and demanding BJK sounds.

Response to the team tennis is a different concept.

I played team tennis throughout high school and only played team tennis. The players on the Fed Cup play individual tournament tennis all year long, excpet for Fed Cup. Out of respect to the players and their careers, BJK needs to park her big ego (which is bigger than her behind), and respect the training program of the players.

Well said. For those of us who are old enough to remember when BJK was womens tennis, it always surprises me how little respect she receives today from the casual tennis fan and younger players. They usually can't wait to get in their lame joke.

Now it's coming out that Capriati never broke the rule - she just argued with it. Billie Jean keeps looking worse and worse in this . . .

Here is what Jon Wertheim's mailbag on CNNSI.com had to say about it all:


As for the soap-opera portion of today's show, there were a good many
last-minute questions about the Billie Jean King/House of Capriati battle
royal. First, say this: When was the last time a Fed Cup tie generated this
much interest? Anyway, I say good for King. Rules, as someone once
remarked, is rules. And when one player is unwilling to comply with rules that
the whole team was expected to obey -- no matter how ridiculous said rules
may have seemed -- how can a self-respecting coach or captain not take
action? A little background is in order, too: I'm told that Capriati's
unauthorized practice was merely the culmination of a week's worth of
rebellious behavior that undermined King's authority. Capriati arrived in
Charlotte a day later than King asked her to; she made various demands that
had USTA staffers rolling their eyes; the omnipresent Stefano threw a fit
when he was told he couldn't watch practice. As one source exceptionally
close to the team told me: "Basically, [Capriati] acted like she was doing the
world a favor by just showing up from the moment she arrived." More
background: It is an open secret that the Capriati camp -- even by tennis'
impossibly high standards -- is notoriously difficult and hypersensitive. Just last
month, Stefano threatened to pull his daughter out of the NASDAQ-100
because he felt the event was fixed in favor of the Williams sisters. Why?
Because Jennifer had to play back-to-back night matches. Again, good for
King for standing up to a bully.

bravo - gaga4gaby. your post so eloquently sums up my feelings on this subject. Billie Jean is a tennis legend - Jen is becoming a legendary brat.

but let me add this:

Isn't Fed Cup/Davis Cup voluntary? There are no points awarded. If Jen needed to prepare for her French Open title, why didn't she just say no?

Also let's not completely blame BJK for the loss. Both Monica Seles who is ranked #6 and Meghann S who is ranked #12 lost to a player currently ranked #74.

Missing from the CNN/SI column post was the part on how Billie Jean uses the rules to her liking. The article made reference to the olympic team and Lisa Raymond who was a higher ranked doubles player than Serena Williams, but was not chosen by the high and mighty BILLIE JEAN KING.

Regarding the old Lisa Raymond/Billie Jean King scandal, all I can say is no one in their right mind would have taken Lisa Raymond over Serena Williams. Lisa is very talented and capable of playing some fine tennis, but she's not of the same caliber as Serena. (Regardless of whether you're talking singles or doubles.) Lisa Raymond was also one of the most vocally critical of Capriati. Had BJK done anything remotely suspect, you would think Lisa -- who has this prior history with Billie Jean -- would have said so.

Q: Why didn't Jen turn down Fed Cup duty?
A: Dumb as a box of hair.

[ April 29, 2002: Message edited by: Gaga4Gaby ]

Ah, but the fact is Billie Jean didn't follow the rules when she went with Serena over Raymond. Why? Because she felt she knew better. This is the same situation, except someone else is the one challenging the logic of Billie Jean's rules. So JCap was rebellious all week? Big deal - again, Billie Jean got to where she is by being rebellious. BTW, I'd like to go on record as saying that I think Billie Jean is an absolute giant in the history of women's athletics, and she deserves all the praise she receives for her past accomplishments. But that doesn't mean that we can't question her judgement and her decisions about current issues.

I never heard of a "box of hair".......

In choosing Serena over Lisa Raymond, Billie Jean King did not break a single rule. She went against customary procedure, yes, but AS CAPTAIN the choice of participants was ultimately left to her discretion. She chose to exercise that right for the benefit of the team.

Jennifer, on the other hand, did something she was flat-out told not to do. She said in a statement that she followed the rules as best as she understood them. A box of hair is pretty dumb, that's all I can say.

This great AP article puts things into perfect perspective, calling out both BJK and JenCap:
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news/ap/200204...vewilstein.html

It's a good read...

Thanks, B Man - that's a good read. I have no problem with spreading the blame, and it's nice to see the media is not giving Billie Jean a free ride here - clearly her ego has gotten away from her.

After reading ALL of the previous posts. I have a couple of observations.

1. Both women had egos involved. That is clear. But there is only one coach and the rest are players.
Think about college basketball. Do you think if Elton Brand wanted to bring his own coaching team and retinue to team practice at Duke University, Coach Kryzewski would have allowed it? Do you think he SHOULD have allowed it? Hell no!

The fact is when you play for a team, you accept the authority of the team coach. That's the fundamental tenet of playing team ball. Without it, you get the Latrell Sprewell/P.J. Carlesimo situation. Or the jen Cap and Billie Jean fiasco. Jen should have realized that right or wrong, she is not in charge. Stefano is not in charge. B.J. King was in charge.

2. Aside from the ego thing. (Let's assume that all coaches are egomaniacs.....) All coaches demand that they be the ultimate authority of every single player on the team. Not just in basketball or football but in purportedly individual games like tennis also.

Right now at the Louisville men's team, the #1 singles player (ranked in the top 20 in the country) is from the area. His private coach for 14 years teaches in the same club at the university (also my coach). his private coach controlled everything about his game up to the day the player reported for the first team practice. How much input has the old coach been allowed to have since then? Zero! The college coach is now in control of how the game develops. The player plays by the coaches rules or nothing at all. That's just the way it is.

For Stefano to insist on being allowed to sit in on team practices ..... well it wasn't just for the sake of observing. We all know that Stefano (being Stefano) would have insisted in being "involved" with Jen's coaching.

Obviously, by all accounts, this issue came up several times and Jen was told many times (including in an argument between the two) that neither that nor a private practice with Stefano would be allowed.
I don't know guys. Sounds pretty clear cut.

In Louisville men's basketball program, Rick Pitino cut three key players due to a "conflict of philosophy". That means "If you don't wanna do what the coach says, one of us has gotta go."
Boys, the coach doesn't lose that battle.

Can't really compare college basketball players who are awarded scholarships with professional tennis players who are used to following their own rules. It seems there is enough blame to go around on this one, but Billie Jean is more to blame.

I wonder what BJK would have done had Venus or Serena done this? If Richard Williams had insisted on practicing his daughters? And somehow I don't see Patrick McEnroe ordering Pete Sampras around in Davis Cup. The coach in Fed Cup and Davis Cup is more of a figurehead and cheerleader than a basketball or football coach who designs plays and strategy. Capriati is going to play her game regardless of the opponent or conditions. Was BJK going to transform JCap into a serve and volleyer?

Anybody else remember way back when? You know, when Jennifer and Monica were best buddies on tour? I didn't have the impression they're at all close lately, and I wasn't surprised to hear Monica backing up BJK 100%.

I find the analogy to college basketball like apples & oranges, to say the least. Even the great Michael Jordan quickly found out the limitations of one guy working all by himself on the court. But in tennis, guess what? A player does go out all by himself (or herself in this case) and get it done.

BJK's always turned me off because in every single interview, you can see just how big her ego is. If JenCap was indeed being such a royal pain, I would have put up with it for the week. After all, it can be argued that part of being on a team might also mean putting up with obnoxious personalities. But I'd also make it clear to JenCap that if she ever wanted to play Fed Cup again, she'd have to check her ego at the door. Besides, JC gets booted for an unscheduled practice? You get booted for missing a team practice, you get booted for showing up hung-over, but getting booted for extra practice? Spare me.

You guys are missing the central point of the whole debacle. The "extra practice" thing was simply a manifestation of the central struggle. Which is summarized as "Do you (JenCap) accept the authority of the coach (BJK) or not?"

It's that simple. If you don't accept it, get off the team. You can't have it both ways. and to say that the coach should suck it up for a week. Geez! If I'm the coach (for only the week) there is no way I'm gonna let someone else wrest control for the whole week while I'm the captain/coach.

This comparison to team sports is ludicrous!

In fact, why there is even a coach for this "Team" is beyond me. You cannot compare how a player performs one on one, to a sport where it is important if you pass the ball to someone else, or block for a teammate, or sarifice a fly ball.

What difference does it make to Monica's game whether Jennifer practiced an extra sesion or not?
.. Or are they going to blame THAT loss on Jennifer, too?!!

it may be ridiculous. But the fact of the mater is... the fed cup is played in a team format.

Has any of you guys criticizing that point played on a tennis TEAM? I have many times over. To say that since the matches are played one-on-one team chemistry does not matter is totally incorrect. You'll be surprised how one person can totally disrupt a team playing 3 dubs matches and 6 singles matches. It is not ludicrous.

I don't want to sound obnoxious, but it seems a lot of the people criticizing Billie Jean or scoffing the idea of Team tennis haven't had much experience playing the sport.

Yes, tennis is an extremely individual sport. To compete at that level you must maintain such a high level of focus every point, every shot. In critical points, it gets downright lonely on the court. It is so hard to mentally pull yourself through the points let alone analyze your opponents game. In any normal tournement, you are on your own. The coach is not allowed to speak with you until after the match. You have to keep from getting frustrated and develop strategy on the fly. It's tough. You find yourself making the wrong decisions or repeating errors. Before you know it, a set goes by.

Enter the coach. In team tennis, the coach is on the sideline with you. The coach can tell you your opponent is missing 40% of their backhands. The coach can tell you your dropping your head on your second serve. And this invaluable feedback happens during the match. The coach and your teammates can really help you mentally lift yourself through a tough match. It makes a HUGE difference in clutch situations. In normal tournements, the crowd is generally quiet and polite and easier to ignore. At these team events, they are raucous and loud. The coach keeps you focused. Helps you strategize. If you can pull out just the one voice on the sidelines for guidance, it makes serving that second serve on break point a lot less scarey.

Players who respect the coach, get more out of the exchange. Pat McEnroe doesn't need to bully Sampras around the court because Sampras respects the role Pat has taken as coach. Jenny's good, but she could learn a lot from Billie Jean. She could also learn a lot from her teammates. Look at the mentorship that the young guys on the Davis cup team get from the vetrans. Capriati could suck it up and share some of her experience with Shaugnessy, but Jenny's probably too self involved to help out a younger player.

Yes, tennis is an individual sport. But there is so much to be gained from the experience of playing on a team. It could only benefit everyone's individual game.

In Davis Cup, John McEnroe had a different set of rules than the other players and this was while Arthur Ashe was captain, someone who took rules very seriously. Mac didn't have a curfew and Ashe was not allowed to wake him up in the morning. I figure if Ashe was wise enough to see the big picture, King ought to as well. She is the one waking up with egg on her face and potentially handing over the job to Miss (Madame?) Evert.

I think BoSoxRudy had a good point here. BJK could have done something like said to Jen, "You can play this week, but if you want to play for this team again, you're going to have to stick by the rules and change your attitude." That would have made a sufficient point without hurting the team. Coaches don't ordinarily drop players from teams for just any rule infraction. If Barry Bonds is late for batting practice (a far more relevant comparison than college teams), does he get fired? I also wonder if Capriati thought the rule was changed specifically to ban certain father coaches.

Meghann and Monica should look to their own houses before blaming Capriati for losing the match--the U.S. lost because they couldn't beat Barbara Schwartz. Maybe Monica would have been better off practicing with Mike Sell.