It was 2012. London. The grass at Wimbledon was pristine, or at least it was until Serena Williams absolutely dismantled Maria Sharapova in the Olympic gold medal match. 6-0, 6-1. A total blowout. But the tennis wasn't what people ended up screaming about on the evening news. It was those few seconds after the match. Serena, overcome with the kind of "I just did that" energy only an elite athlete understands, broke into a quick, rhythmic shuffle.
That shuffle was the serena williams crip walk video moment that nearly broke the internet before we even used that phrase.
Honestly, the backlash was wild. You had sports commentators acting like she’d committed a federal crime on the most sacred lawn in sports. They called it "crass." They called it "tasteless." Some even suggested she was glorifying gang violence. But if you actually look at the footage and the context of where she’s from, the story is a lot more layered than a simple "controversial dance."
The Dance That Shook the All England Club
The Crip Walk, or C-Walk, isn't just a TikTok trend. It started in the 1970s in Compton, California. It was a rhythmic, intricate footwork display used by the Crips gang to signal affiliation or celebrate a "win" over rivals. By the early 2000s, though, it had bled into mainstream hip-hop. Snoop Dogg did it. Xzibit did it. It became a piece of West Coast culture that traveled far beyond the street corners of LA.
When Serena did it at the 2012 Olympics, she wasn't thinking about gang politics. She was a girl from Compton who had just reached the pinnacle of her sport. She was happy.
"It was just a dance," she told reporters later, clearly annoyed. "I didn't know that's what it was called."
Whether she knew the formal name or not, the "lily-white" world of tennis—as some critics pointedly called it—wasn't ready for a Compton celebration on Center Court. The contrast was jarring for the traditionalists. You had people sipping Pimm's and eating strawberries and cream, and then you had Serena bringing the streets of her childhood to the finish line of a gold medal.
Why the Backlash Felt Different for Serena
The criticism wasn't just about the dance moves. It felt personal. Jason Whitlock, then with Fox Sports, compared it to "cracking a tasteless, X-rated joke inside a church." Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it showed how far she’d drifted from the actual reality of the violence associated with that dance.
Here’s the thing: Serena knew that violence better than any of those columnists.
In 2003, her older sister, Yetunde Price, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Compton. The shooter was a member of the Southside Crips. To suggest Serena was "glorifying" the very culture that took her sister’s life felt, to many fans, like a reach at best and a targeted attack at worst. It was a "radical joy" moment. She was taking a piece of her home—a piece of the culture she grew up in—and reclaiming it in a moment of triumph.
The 2025 Super Bowl Full Circle Moment
Fast forward to 2025. Kendrick Lamar is headlining the Super Bowl halftime show. The world is watching. And who pops up in the corner of the stage during "Not Like Us"?
Serena Williams.
And she didn't just stand there. She Crip Walked. Again.
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This time, the internet didn't explode in anger; it exploded in cheers. On social media, she joked, "Man, I did not crip walk like that at Wimbledon. Ooh, I would've been fined." The 2025 performance was a giant middle finger to the 2012 critics. It was a statement. By appearing with Kendrick—another Compton legend—she was signaling that she never actually left her roots, no matter how many Grand Slams she won or how "exclusive" her neighborhoods became.
What This Video Teaches Us About Sports Culture
The serena williams crip walk video remains a case study in how we police the joy of Black athletes. We want them to win, but we often want them to win "the right way."
- Cultural Malleability: Symbols and dances change. What starts as a gang ritual can evolve into a symbol of regional pride and personal liberation.
- The Double Standard: Other athletes have done "edgy" celebrations without their entire upbringing being interrogated.
- Reclamation: Serena’s 2025 Super Bowl appearance proved that she wasn't sorry. She was just waiting for the right stage.
If you’re looking for the original 2012 video today, you'll see a woman at the absolute peak of her powers. She had just completed the career Golden Slam (winning all four majors and an Olympic gold). She was the best in the world, and for five seconds, she danced like she was back on the courts in Compton where it all started.
If you want to understand the impact of this moment, don't just look at the footwork. Look at the shift in the conversation from 2012 to today. We've moved from "how dare she" to "look how she owns it."
To see the evolution yourself, compare the 2012 Olympic footage with the high-def 2025 Super Bowl halftime show clips. The footwork is more polished now, but the spirit is exactly the same. It's a reminder that you can take the girl out of Compton, but you can't take the Compton out of the GOAT.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Creators
- Context is King: When analyzing a viral sports moment, look at the athlete’s biography. What looks like "controversy" to an outsider is often "community" to the insider.
- Watch the Evolution: Notice how media narratives shift over decades. What was once "crass" is now "iconic."
- Appreciate the Skill: Setting aside the politics, the C-Walk requires incredible balance and rhythm—traits Serena clearly has in spades both on and off the court.