The flamboyant and controversial Italian, renowned for his comical, at times volatile on-court antics, appeared to have mellowed since his recent marriage to Flavia Pennetta, the 2015 US Open champion, and the birth of their first child this past May but this assessment may have been premature.

The International Tennis Federation fined and suspended Fognini following an investigation into his behavior during a first-round defeat at the US Open this past September. During his four-set loss to fellow Italian, Stefano Travaglia, Fognini uttered obscenities deemed offensive by most, especially women.

In the current climate of political correctness and #metoo, our media-saturated culture has rendered free-speech anything but free. The supreme court ruled that yelling fire in a movie theater is not protected speech; how long before society deems a polite compliment as offensive and inappropriate? Speech, without question, is now micro-managed and over-analyzed.

Fabio Fognini is a top-ranked tennis player – not a senator or professor. He did not utter these obscenities while lecturing a college level political science class; they were hurled at the chair umpire, Louise Engzell during the heat of battle at the final grand slam of the season. Context may not be everything, but it is certainly something.

In my estimation, the punishment did not fit the crime. Several days following his first-round loss, he was fined $24,000  for unsportsmanlike conduct, assessed an additional fine of $96,000 , disqualified from the doubles championship and will be suspended from two grand slam tournaments – one of which must be the US Open – should he commit another Grand Slam major offense before the conclusion of the 2019 season.

If this atmosphere had permeated the tennis circuit during the 1970’s and 1980’s, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Ilie Nastase – the tours renegade bad boys – might have fewer grand slam trophies in their cases. Would they have been banned from playing in multiple grand slam events had they competed in a similar climate and under a microscope 24/7?

Dare I proclaim there is a pervasive double standard on tour? Ironically, or not, the same official was in the chair during Serena Williams’ legendary meltdown during her semi-final loss to Kim Clijsters at the 2009 US Open.

Following an earlier warning for racquet abuse, her belligerent behavior after a foot-fault resulted in a point penalty which happened to be issued on match point. She had verbally threatened and approached the lineswoman in a menacing fashion. She allegedly threated to shove a tennis ball down her throat and appeared to be brandishing her racquet like a weapon.

Unlike Fabio Fognini, Serena was ranked #1 at the time of this infraction and as a result, appeared to receive preferential treatment. She was fined $82,500  and received a provisional ban from future grand slams should she commit a major offense during the following two seasons, but was not banned from the doubles championship as was Fognini. Seven-time grand slam champion John McEnroe, no stranger to on-court controversy, along with broadcast analyst Mary Carillo, adamantly believed Williams should have been suspended.

Clearly, the rules of conduct for male and female professional athletes were not equally applied. Was Williams given preferential treatment by a female chair umpire and more importantly, was Fognini a sacrificial lamb and unfairly treated?

While no one wishes to be on the receiving end of abusive language and behavior, it must be viewed in context. Fognini’s response to receiving multiple fines and provisional ban from two slams by the ITF was “today, they are all moralists.”

If women are determined to officiate men’s matches on the ATP tour, they must accept the probability that they will overhear disparaging comments – whether directed at them, the player himself or his opponent- during a match and accordingly, should judiciously apply the code of conduct rules and regulations as stipulated by the ATP and Grand Slam Board.

In the twitter-sphere and twenty-four-hour news cycle, we have devolved into a society that walks on eggshells and that has had a chilling effect on free speech. Libelous speech and defaming another’s character should not be minimized or dismissed but this is a professional tennis player, not a corporate CEO or the president of the United States!

Goran Ivanisevic, former world number two and 2001 Wimbledon champion, often proclaimed he did not know which Goran would step on court on any given day – good, bad or ugly Goran. Tennis is an individual sport and that is one of its greatest strengths; let’s not stifle personalities and the interest they garner by over-policing on-court speech.

Rivalries are crucial for the longevity of any sport and tennis is no exception. Chris Evert-the girl next door and America’s darling with the two-handed backhand was pitted against Martina Navratilova, the serve and volleyer from communist Czechoslovakia.

Bjorn Borg, the gentle, stoic Swede against two bad-boys, the Bellville brasher – James Scott Connors, and Queens, NY native, John Patrick McEnroe. The rivalries were not based solely on style of play and frequency and ferocity of encounters – contrasting personalities were equally important.

There should be zero tolerance for aggressive, abusive or sexist behavior or language in the workplace but a tennis court – while a paying job for many, is within the realm of sport-a theater of athletes-and as such, should not be held to the same, impractical standards.

Issue a code of conduct warning, a point penalty or default from a match but do not crucify a player for comments made in his native Italian in the heat of battle but give Serena Williams a pass for physically threatening a lineswoman.

As a woman, I find that offensive.