Referring to Serena Williams, Rankine states, “Yes, and the body has memory. The physical carriage hauls more than its weight.” How do sports in particular encourage spectators and officials to assume influence or even ownership over the bodies of

In context, the author is referring to the weight of memory, the racial insults, the slights, and the mistreatment by other players. The question itself responds to an incident at the 2004 U.S. Open, during which, Williams loses her temper after a bad call. The author notes in detail that Serena's blackness created dissention among the spectators without ever having had to perform. Serena was a black woman who excelled in a white sport.