Los Angeles Times Serena Williams American Pharoah

Skip navigation!

The Los Angeles Times is under fire for an article accompanied by a tweet it ran Monday morning, just hours after Sports Illustrated’s cover depicting Serena Williams as the 2015 Sportsperson of The Year, appeared online.

Serena Williams or American Pharoah: Who's the real sportsperson of 2015? Vote in our poll https://t.co/l4A51SPUlP pic.twitter.com/dssxaGFbAn
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) December 14, 2015

The article polled L.A Times readers’ on who they thought should win the SI distinction: Williams or the SI.com online readers’ poll favorite, American Pharoah, horse racing’s first Triple Crown winner in 37 years. Not only did the magazine pit the first solo black female athlete to win the award against a horse, its photo team went one step further by creating an image that placed tennis superstar Williams and American Pharoah side by side. Readers were livid. "They had the nerve to create an actual factual poll with Williams on the left and the horse on the right as if this was a legit thing that should be discussed," wrote Kyra Kyles, Editorial VP of Ebony.com in an OP-ED.

AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT

@latimes To compare a black woman to a horse is a ridculous comparision to begin with. No, changing the headline doesn't make it any better.
— January Gill O'Neil (@januaryoneil) December 14, 2015

.@latimes White people will stan for every damn animal Noah had on his ark before recognizing the value of black lives.
— Saeed Jones (@theferocity) December 14, 2015

“For a century, racism has diminished recognition and reward for black American athletes’ accomplishments. For much longer, black women have been treated like — and referred to as — mules and brood mares. A reputable American news source should have been able to discern why what may have seemed a lighthearted poll on its face would be deeply unsettling for any black reader who grew up hearing about her history in this country," wrote Washington Post freelance writer Stacie L. Brown.

.@latimes should be ashamed of themselves. cc: @serenawilliams pic.twitter.com/iccNbf0n3D
— BLACK (@_WeAreBlack) December 15, 2015

The incident is being compared to the life of black Olympic champion, Jesse Owens, who was resigned to racing against racehorses to make money. Even after winning four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics, racist American policies stood in the way of living the life of a revered athlete.

This reminds me of when Jesse Owens was made to race a horse to earn living expenses: https://t.co/XypyJCPyom. https://t.co/1L2fV9dAYR
— stacia l. brown (@slb79) December 14, 2015

L.A. Times didn’t take the tweet down but did issue an apology and changed the headline and photo.

@latimes We’ve changed the headline and photo on this story to treat it with greater sensitivity. Thank you for your feedback.
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) December 14, 2015