Raymond Arsenault, the speaker of this event, is the author of Arthur Ashe’s book. Arthur Ashe was a tennis player born in Richmond, Virginia. He grew up to be a world-class athlete, but as Arsenault argued, Ashe was most importantly an amazing human being. Ashe grew up surrounded by the struggles of the Jim Crow era. Something that took me by surprise was when Arsenault told us that growing up as an African American playing tennis, Ashe was often told “If a white boy hits a ball just out, you call it in. It’s much better to not have a conflict.” Ashe had a mentality built around inequality, and therefore obtained an increasing guilt when he saw other black kids went through the same unfairness as him.
When Arsenault began writing Ashe’s book, he realized that underneath Ashe’s cool exterior was a raging feel of inadequacy about standards he had set for himself. As a leader, Ashe decided not to just watch unfair events happen around him. Instead, he took action. He spent his late-career encouraging other athletes to speak out for justice. Arsenault described, “Ashe had a fire in the belly, he never felt as though he had done enough.” Individuals who knew Arthur said he was an extraordinary listener, he would never interrupt. Arsenault argues that this quality of listening displays Ashe’s essence of civility. Among all American athletes, Ashe came the closest to being a public intellect; not only smart, but passionate about what he did, his morals, and beliefs. Ashe used tennis to reach young people through his creation of the National Junior Tennis League. His goal was to develop the character of kids through tennis and education. Overall, Ashe’s actions demonstrate that he was much more than an incredibly skilled tennis player; he had strong moral beliefs and took actions to reinforce them.
Be First to Comment