During the middle of the September 7 U.S. Open tennis semi-final match in New York City between Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchová, four environmental protestors from Extinction Rebellion NYC in the upper decks of the stadium wearing shirts saying “END FOSSIL FUELS” interrupted the match for almost an hour. One protester glued his bare feet to the ground. An Extinction Rebellion activist said, “We are here because we have to disrupt this public event as our last resort to draw public attention to the climate emergency we are facing today.”1
Extinction Rebellion fossil fuel protesters disrupt women's semifinals match between Coco Gauff, U.S., and Karolina Muchová, Czech Republic, September 7, 2023. Photo: AP
As this protest happened, many fans in the stands yelled, “Kick them out!” Television commentators failed to say what the protest was about and complained that this was disrupting the flow of the match and how much it was hurting the players to stop playing. During and after the protest, no one wanted to talk about the environmental catastrophe facing this world. But one person did—and it was Coco Gauff.
In interviews after the match, which she won 6-4, 7-5, Coco Gauff said of the protest:
Throughout history, moments like this are definitely defining moments. I believe in climate change. I don’t really know exactly what they were protesting. I know it was about the environment. I 100% believe in that… I had a feeling it was going to happen this tournament. It happened in the French Open, it happened in Wimbledon. So, you know, following the trend, it was definitely going to happen here.... I wasn’t pissed at the protesters. I know the stadium was because it just interrupted entertainment. But, I always speak about preaching what you feel and what you believe in. It was done in a peaceful way, so I can't get too mad at it. Obviously I don't want it to happen when I'm winning up 6-4 1-0, and I wanted the momentum to keep going. But hey, if that's what they felt they needed to do to get their voices heard, I can't really get upset at it…2
Coco Gauff celebrates her win against Karolina Muchová, of the Czech Republic in semi-finals, September 7, 2023. Photo: AP
This year’s U.S. Open was played in excruciating heat and humidity, with players complaining about how hard it was to play in those conditions. In fact, one player, Daniil Medvedev, was heard to say during one of his matches, “One player is gonna die [because of the heat]…” Did anyone mention global warming? No! So, when the protest disrupted the Gauff-Muchová match as it was being broadcast to millions, it forced the issue of the catastrophic threat of climate change to the light of day. This is what the protesters meant to do. And by voicing support for the protest, Coco Gauff made sure that it would not get swept under the rug and made sure the righteous climate protesters would “get their voices heard.”
When top athletes like Coco Gauff take a stand in support of people protesting oppression and injustices and calling for action against things like climate change—including protesters who disrupt sports events—it truly makes a difference for the interests of humanity. This is all too rare… but the world needs a lot more of it.
Cheers to Coco!