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The USTA’s censorship of Trump dissent at the US Open is cowardly, hypocritical and un-American

Frederick Attenborough

8 September 2025

When the dust finally settles in the days after Sunday’s eagerly awaited US Open men’s final, the United States Tennis Association will issue its annual victory-lap press release, reports Bryan Armen Graham for The Guardian:

It will tout another record-setting Open: more than a million fans through the gates, unprecedented social-media engagement, double-digit growth in food and beverage sales, and hundreds of celebrities packed into suites from Rolex to Ralph Lauren. It will beam about growing the game, championing diversity and turning Flushing Meadows into a pop-culture destination.

But for all the milestones the USTA is teeing up to celebrate, this year’s tournament will be remembered for a different kind of first: the governing body’s lamentable decision to ask broadcasters not to show dissent against Donald Trump. In making that pre-emptive concession, the USTA has committed an unforced error that can’t be undone: sacrificing credibility in order to shield a politician – any politician, regardless of party, ideology or affiliation – from the sound of public disapproval.

According to internal emails obtained by outlets including PA and Bounces, the USTA instructed its television partners to “refrain from showcasing any disruptions or reactions” when Trump appears on screen during Sunday’s final. A separate note reminded staff he would be seated in Rolex’s suite as a client guest. The 11-word statement to the Guardian on Saturday night from a USTA spokesperson – “We regularly ask our broadcasters to refrain from showcasing off-court disruptions” – is so weak it could buckle under the weight of its own hypocrisy. (Rolex did not respond to a request for comment.)

And to what end? Because of the fear that Trump – once a fixture at the US Open but loudly booed on his last visit in 2015, three months after announcing his first presidential campaign – may once again be exposed as unpopular before a global audience? Because of the fear that a chorus of jeers could overshadow the match itself? But that fear misunderstands both sport and democracy.

Crowd dissent on broadcasts is not a breakdown of civic order. It is its expression. Then UK home secretary Theresa May was booed at the 2012 London Paralympics. French president Emmanuel Macron was whistled during the 2023 Rugby World Cup opening ceremony in Paris. In the US, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is all but guaranteed a chorus of boos during public appearances, and that’s practically a standing ovation next to the venom reserved for NHL commissioner Gary Bettman from fans. And Trump and his predecessor, Joe Biden, have been given hostile receptions by sports crowds. Somehow the United Kingdom, France and the United States survived those incidents intact.

That the USTA thinks Trump must be insulated from reality hints at something darker. It is reminiscent of regimes where the leader’s image must be protected from public ridicule. It shows how much Trump’s first term – and his bullying of cultural institutions – still shapes behavior. In his first presidency, he was broadly reviled by athletes and sports bodies. Now, as Tom Dart wrote before this year’s Super Bowl, he is increasingly accommodated or treated with silence.

Worth reading in full.