Racism directed at athletes is getting worse, and software designed to protect them from abuse has little impact, former US Open champion Sloane Stephens said on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stephens, speaking after her straight-sets victory over Karolina Pliskova in the French Open first round, said she has had to endure it her whole career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes, it\u2019s obviously been a problem my entire career,\u201d said Stephens, who is Black and turned professional in 2009. \u201cIt has never stopped. If anything, it\u2019s only gotten worse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Stephens did not go into specific details but said even software designed to block racist comments could not stop it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI did hear about the software [which is available at the French Open]. I have not used it,\u201d she said. \u201cI have a lot of obviously key words banned on Instagram and all of these things, but that doesn\u2019t stop someone from just typing in an asterisk or typing it in a different way, which obviously software most of the time doesn\u2019t catch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Athletes in all sports are regularly confronted with racist comments and behavior, with Real Madrid\u2019s Vin\u00edcius J\u00fanior the most notable recent case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vin\u00edcius was on the receiving end of racist chants at Valencia\u2018s Mestalla stadium last week, and his complaints about Spain and LaLiga not doing enough to fight racism sparked a worldwide wave of support and national debate in Spain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur worked this month with the Metropolitan Police to investigate an allegation of racial abuse toward South Korean forward Son Heung-Min.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stephens said the racism had reached a worrying level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI mean, obviously when there is FBI investigations going on with what people are saying to you online, it\u2019s very serious,\u201d said the 30-year-old American.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stephens did not say whether she was referring to a specific case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cObviously it\u2019s been something that I have dealt with my whole career,\u201d she said. \u201cI think that, like I said, it\u2019s only continued to get worse, and people online have the free rein to say and do whatever they want behind fake pages, which is obviously very troublesome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something I have had to deal with my whole career and something I will continue to deal with, I\u2019m sure. That\u2019s that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n