FEEDBACK: WEDNESDAY, MAY 1

Rubin's award and contribution need press coverage

(This letter has been edited to meet space constraints)

When is an honor not an honor? We've seen such an occurrence just over a week ago.

As you're no doubt aware, for the past 10 years, the Family Circle Cup, in conjunction with Hormel, has handed out an annual "Player Who Makes A Difference" award. The purpose of the award is to honor those who contribute the most to society, to help others, etc. This year, the award went to a much-deserving, and long-overdue, recipient; Chanda Rubin. Perhaps it was the tennis fans (myself included) who wrote in with the huge list of all of the things Ms. Rubin has done that influenced the outcome. Perhaps they reached the conclusion on their own, and didn't need the additional prodding of mentioning how silly they'd look if they passed her over yet again, gave the award to someone less "qualified", and the list of Rubin's "credentials" got out.

Anyhow, moving on to the award itself, the winner was announced later than usual this year; barely a month ago. But here was a golden opportunity for the tennis community. Tennis players are constantly bashed in the mainstream sports media for being greedy and self-centered. Here was a chance to show them otherwise. Ms. Rubin has taken a hands-on involvement in numerous areas, from the American Heart Association, to the United Negro College Fund, to Special Olympics, to reading to the children of prison inmates, etc. For years, many in the media have cried out about the need for a modern-day Arthur Ashe. Well she's been sitting under their noses the whole time. In fact, Rubin has done more for others than Ashe had at her age. (I know. I was following both tennis and Ashe then.)

So how did the tennis community handle this opportunity to show off one of their best and brightest citizens? They ignored her. When the award was announced, the only tennis news places that mentioned it were the FCC tournament website, the WTA website, and the USA Today website. None of the others did. Not CBS, or the BBC, or CNNSI, or ESPN, or Tennis Week, or, for that matter, you guys (tennisreporters.net ).
And if you think that was bad, this past weekend (April 20-21) topped it.

First off, the tournament promoters themselves botched the handling of the award. The press release said the award would be given out between the semifinals (as had been the custom). But the tickets said it would be given out during the concert afterwards. I know of 2 people who went there (semis) with the specific intention of getting photos of that award ceremony. Imagine the gamut of emotions run as they entered the stadium minutes before the first semi, only to hear the end of Rubin's
speech, with no chance to get a photo.

Shaking my head in disgust,
– Brian Stewart

Dear Mr Stewart:
Your points about all that Chanda Rubin has worked to accomplish beyond her career as a professional tennis player are well taken. Even while working through numerous injuries that have taken their toll on her career, Rubin has made sure to give back to the community and should be given due credit for doing so. Her selection as the "Family Circle/Hormel Player Who Makes A Difference" was a well-deserved honor and Rubin should be proud to have received it and that she has put charity among the prime importances in her life.

Unfortunately, recipients of these type of honors often do get lost in the media shuffle. I am sure there was no slight intended towards Chanda Rubin or any of the past recipients of this award, many who also did not receive major media attention.
Having covered Chanda Rubin throughout her career, I am sure that while she was pleased to be selected for this award, she is not upset that she didn't receive widespread media attention. My reasoning for this is simple: I'm confident that Chanda makes her charitable contributions for the right reason – she believes strongly that those who are fortunate should give back to those less fortunate. I am equally confident that she isn't doing all of her philanthropic work just to receive recognition for her good deeds.

While tennisreporters.net neglected to make mention of the honor extended to Rubin at the time, we send her our congratulations and our respect for her unselfish charitable contributions.

By Sandra Harwitt
tennisreporters.net