I am not rewarding bad behavior, but Serena Williams was robbed.

You just don’t penalize an athlete during the finals of a Grand Slam event.

Carlos Ramos gave the match away.

Realistically, one cannot overstate the rules and the role of the umpire, but those rules need to be intelligently enforced.

The players and fans were all confused when the score was altered in the second set of the women’s final at the US Open…Ramos should have called Williams over and advised her that if she did not collect herself, he was going to penalize her one game.

Did Naomi Osaka play lights out, would she have probably won…yes, but there is a chance that the match would have gone to a third set and the outcome would have been decided fairly and squarely.

There is no attempt to diminish Osaka’s performance as she is a talented, young star who displayed grace and dignity.

Nevertheless,  sexism reared its’ ugly head.

I can testify to the many tantrums that male tennis players have thrown and nothing major has occurred.

I spent a decade as the on air booth manager at the US Open and watched more matches than I can accurately recall.

I have seen smashed rackets and verbal abuse by males and nothing as drastic as forfeiting a game during a Grand Slam final has ever happened on my watch.

The umpire should have selflessly ecognized the magnitude of the situation and taken himself out of the emotionalism of the moment.

He questioned Williams ethics.

Serena’s outrage was understandable.

The double standard continues to prevail between men and women in the real world as well as on the tennis court.

During this year’s Open, Alize Comet was fined for exposing her sports bra when she realized her top was back to front yet Nadal, Federer and Djokovic change their shirts frequently on court, sitting topless for moments at end and are never fined.

Nadal receives applause along with verbal admiration.

During the finals of this year’s French Open, Nadal was penalized for a time violation and was very verbal in his displeasure towards Carlos Ramos, the same umpire involved in the Williams fiasco.

Nadal told Ramos he would never work one of his matches again and he was not penalized.

Naomi Osaka deserved to win, but the umpire needed to step aside and let the women battle it out to a fair conclusion.

This was a harsh action which affected the match and in the aftermath brought sexism to the forefront.

Serena Williams, being accused by many as an emotional, angry, hysterical woman, doesn’t hold water or warrant the disciplinary action.

*AP Photo/Adam Hunger