Crossing the Linesperson

Over the weekend, Novak Djokovic hit a ball in anger that inadvertently hit a linesperson in the throat. It was a mistake, but the rules are pretty clear, so the move cost Djokovic the match and what looked like an almost sure thing major win. So how does social media react? Some people have attacked the woman hit in the throat. Djokovic defends line judge after social media abuse. Of course, 99.9% of people feel sympathy for woman. But normalcy isn’t what gets amplified on social media, and then later in the news. Beyond not hitting a ball in anger in a major, there’s a lesson here.