名人軼事68:Arthur Ashe: Tennis Champion and Civil Rights Activist

Arthur Ashe: Tennis Champion and Civil Rights ActivistWritten by Vivian

Chakarian

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

I’m Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

Arthur Ashe

And I’m Steve Ember with People in America, in VOA Special English. Today we

tell about the life of tennis champion Arthur Ashe.

He was an athlete and a social activist who died before he was fifty. He was

honored for his bravery and honesty as well as his strong support of just

causes.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen seventy-five, Arthur Ashe played against Ilie Nastase in the

Masters tennis games in Stockholm, Sweden. Nastase was out of control. He

delayed the game. He called Ashe bad names.

Finally, Arthur Ashe put down his tennis racket and walked off the tennis

court. He said, "I've had enough. I'm at the point where I'm afraid I'll lose

control. " The officials were shocked; Ashe was winning the game. One official

told him he would lose if he walked out of the game. Ashe said, "I don't care.

I'd rather lose that than my self-respect. "

The next day, the Masters committee met. They knew that if they gave the game

to Nastase, they would be supporting his kind of actions. They felt it was how

you played the game that really counted. So, the officials decided it was

Nastase who must lose the game.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Arthur Ashe was born in nineteen forty-three in the southern city of Richmond,

Virginia. His parents were Mattie Cunningham Ashe and Arthur Ashe, Senior.

In those days, black people and white people lived separately in the South. By

law, African-Americans could not attend the same schools or the same churches

as white people.

Arthur learned to live with racial separation. He attended an all-black

school. He played in the areas kept separate for blacks. And when he traveled

to his grandmother's house, he sat in the back of the bus behind a white line.

Only white people could sit in the front part of the bus.

Tennis was a sport traditionally played by white people. Arthur's experience

was different from most other tennis players. He grew up under poorer

conditions. His father worked several jobs at the same time. And his mother

died when he was six.

VOICE ONE:

Mister Ashe taught his son the importance of leading an honorable life. He

said a person does not get anywhere in life by making enemies. He explained

that a person gains by helping others. Arthur Ashe, Senior taught his son the

importance of his friends, his family and his history. He said that without

his good name, he would be nothing.

By example, Arthur's father taught the importance of hard work. His job was to

drive people where they wanted to go. And he did other kinds of jobs for

several wealthy families.

VOICE TWO:

When Arthur was four, his father was given responsibility for a public play

area called Brook Field. It was the largest play area for black people in the

city of Richmond. Mister Ashe continued to work at his other jobs as well. The

family moved into a five-room house in the middle of the park.

Arthur could use the swimming pool, basketball courts, baseball fields and

tennis courts in the park. He liked sports. He was not very big, but he was

fast.

Arthur began playing tennis when he was seven years old. He was very small.

The racket he used to hit the tennis ball seemed bigger than he was. But by

the time he was thirteen years old, he was winning against players two times

his size and age.

Arthur had great energy and sense of purpose. He would hit five hundred tennis

balls each summer day early in the morning. He would stop to eat his morning

meal. Then he would hit five hundred more tennis balls.

VOICE ONE:

When Arthur was ten years old, he met Robert Walter Johnson. Doctor Johnson

established a tennis camp for black children who were not permitted to play on

tennis courts for whites.

Doctor Johnson helped Arthur learn to be calm while playing tennis. He taught

him to use restraint. He said that anger at an opponent was a waste of energy.

By nineteen sixty, Arthur had won the National Junior Indoor Championship.

And, the University of California at Los Angeles offered him a college

education if he played for the UCLA tennis team. In nineteen sixty-five,

Arthur Ashe led the team to the National Collegiate Athletic Association

championship. He completed his education the next year with a degree in

business administration.

VOICE TWO:

Arthur Ashe then became a professional tennis player. In nineteen sixty-eight,

he won the United States Open. It was the first time an African-American man

had won one of the four major competitions in tennis.