This award was long overdue.  Williams has been a dominant force in tennis for many years.  In terms of quantity, she has had several years where she won more titles than the five she won this season.  As impressive as this year was for Williams, she had a better season in 2002.  That year, she also had three Major titles in her total of eight titles.  She would go on in the 2003 season to win the Australian Open and win her first career Grand Slam.  I think 2002 should have been her first Sportsperson Award.  Am I a little bias? Perhaps; however, I would like to think that I maintain my objectivity in view of the facts.  Williams has dominated tennis in this era, and yet this is her first award of such magnitude: Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year.  She also lags behind in endorsement money. Why?  Let’s face it, racism still exists and in spite of Williams being athletically dominant, other players reap the endorsement benefits for looking like fashion models.  I am very happy to see that she finally got recognized in a big way for her talents.  Despite some critics who may have wanted to see the award given to someone else or an animal, I think Williams decisively proved her case for this award once again with her tenacity and dominant record of 53-3.  In addition, she came very close to winning the first Grand Slam since 1988.