An environmental activist glued his feet to the stadium floor, delaying a U.S. Open semifinal tennis match Thursday night, and in the process opened up a discussion on whether such tactics are an effective way to call attention to an important cause — in this case, climate change — or unwanted intrusions that could set off a backlash.
The protest from Extinction Rebellion NYC came from the upper reaches of Arthur Ashe Stadium as, on the court below, Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova were playing in the first semifinal match of the evening.
At first, television commentators were unable to figure out what was happening. Eventually, security and New York City police responded. It was 49 minutes before personnel were able to detach the glued protester and the match resumed. As the process dragged on, some fans began chanting “Kick them out!”
While many affected by such protests are angered by them, and organizers worry about safety issues, activists defend their methods as a powerful way to get their point across.
WHAT TO KNOW
- An environmental activist’s demonstration at the U.S. Open Thursday opened up a discussion on whether such tactics effectively call attention to an important cause — in this case, climate change.
- The activist glued his feet to the stadium floor, delaying a semifinal match for 49 minutes.
- While many affected by such protests are angered by them, and organizers worry about safety issues, activists defend their methods as a powerful way to get their point across.
Miles Grant, spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion NYC, said in an interview that he understood why people on hand were upset. “There was a lot of pretty understandable frustration people felt about the game being disrupted. … We are, too, when we see weather events that delay games or postpone games, and that will be a lot worse” because of climate change.
“Our protest [causing] a 40-minute delay is a lot less severe than a lot of these…
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