The South–African government refused to give a visa to Black tennis player Arthur Ashe to play in the South African Open championships, effectively banning him from participating. The Minister of Sport Frank Waring unabashedly said that Ashe’s negative attitude towards South African apartheid was the primary reason for the ban, and quoted Ashe’s statement that his trip would be “an attempt to put a crack in the racist wall down there.” John Vorster, the South African Prime Minister, even flaunted his rejection of Ashe in hopes of reinforcing the status quo and helping his bid for reelection. Ashe responded by lobbying the governing bodies of tennis and testifying before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee in Washington. “Athletes, especially black athletes, must use every resource at their command to right things that are wrong. … To have a potential to do a lot of good and not exercise this is the worst cowardice, especially in the United States,” he said. Although some protesters supported Ashe, few players publicly disagreed with his statements and tried to separate sports from politics. In 1973, Ashe was finally granted a visa for the South African Open, but he refused to play until seating for his matches was unsegregated. Ashe was the first black male to win Wimbledon. Although Ashe’s decisions faced considerable controversy, only one thing truly mattered to him: “Every day, [a young black teenager] was there when I arrived and he seemed to be there when I left. … He was watchful but shy as he shadowed me around the park. It was as if I exuded some precious, mysterious quality that he wanted to possess,” Ashe wrote in his memoirs. “Tell me something,” Ashe asked. “Why are you following me around?” The boy answered, “You are the first truly free black man I have ever seen.” Statements like these gave Ashe hope in his decision. Although one cannot hope to change the opinion of everyone, sometimes we only need to make a difference to one.
#arthurashe