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[ Tennis ball bouncing ]

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Man: That's it.

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[ Announcer speaking
indistinctly ]

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[ Applause ]

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Announcer: It got by him.

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Announcer #2:
Comes back with it!

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[ Cheers and applause ]

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Arthur: You try to put
your entire being,

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mentally and physically,

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on automatic pilot
while you're playing tennis.

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Everything is concentrated
on the razor's edge,

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and you forget the score.

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You forget where you are.
You forget what your name is.

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I feel that my body's
floating within myself.

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[ Cheers and applause ]

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Man #2: The game of tennis
is a symphony in white --

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players and white suits,

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hitting a white ball
back and forth

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between white bass lines
in all-White country clubs.

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But a new young player
has come along,

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and he is one of the greatest
we have ever produced.

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And he is not White.

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Arthur: I sense confusion
in what an athlete should be,

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especially in
an African-American context.

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There does still persist in the
world myths about Black athletes

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because we tend to do
disproportionately well

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in athletics.

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Some people think
we are all brawn and no brains.

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And I like to fight the myth.

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There are lots of us
who can think as well as run,

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jump, hit tennis balls,
dunk basketballs.

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-Talented Lew Alcindor...
-Althea Gibson of New York...

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Arthur: And the challenge now

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is to convince young
Black athletes

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that they have the power
and the ability

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and the opportunity
to translate into real clout.

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Reporter: Are you not gonna
say anything today

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or just gonna use
these posters?

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Winners are merely people
who, on any given day,

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best their competition.

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Williams: The day I stop
fighting for equality

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will be the day I'm in my grave.

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Arthur: But champions are people

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who want to leave their sport
better than they found it.

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♪♪

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♪♪

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[ Cheers and applause ]

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Wimbledon is the most
popular tournament in the world.

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It's the most widely
broadcast tournament

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in the world.

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It's our showpiece event.

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I've been ranked number one
in the world.

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I have played for a decade,

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but I haven't won Wimbledon
ever.

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I was over 30, getting toward
the end of my career.

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Evans: Arthur always had more
things going on in his life

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than just tennis.

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During the early '70s,

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a lot of people felt that
he was getting distracted.

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His tennis was suffering.

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No one needed to tell Arthur
that this was his last chance.

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Arthur: We came up with
a radical change of strategy

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from on grass.

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But then the next question is,
could you do it?

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Evans: A Black man
had never won Wimbledon.

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This was his moment.

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[ Cheers and applause ]

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Announcer:
Arthur Ashe looks to be

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the coolest man on the court.

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This is certainly Arthur Ashe
at his best.

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Arthur:
Some people say that my notion

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or feelings of self-sufficiency
go too far.

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I think I can almost withstand
just about anything.

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As an African-American athlete,
I have experienced racism

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as a tennis player,
going way back.

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[ Cheers and applause ]

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I have played
extraordinary matches

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under unbelievable
circumstances,

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but Wimbledon tied
my whole life together.

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Announcer #2: As we join
the action in the first set,

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Ashe is upsetting the form book.

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Super start throughout the...

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♪ You ought to carry ♪

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♪ Carry me back ♪

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♪ Yeah, to old ♪

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♪ To old Virginny ♪

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♪ That's where the cotton ♪

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♪ That's where the cotton ♪

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Arthur:
Coming up Black in the South

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in a city which was the old
capital of the Confederacy

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and see big statues
of J.E.B. Stuart,

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Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson
Davis, Robert E. Lee,

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and I had to sit behind
the White line on the bus.

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I had to ride in Black taxis,
went to Black schools.

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I went to Black churches.
We lived on a Black playground.

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My father was the caretaker
of the largest playground

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for Blacks
in Richmond, Virginia,

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and the house came with the job
on the playground

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and 4 tennis courts
were just 10 yards away,

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literally 10 yards away.

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Johnnie: I remember I asked him,
you know,

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"We live on a playground.

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We've got all of these sports
all around us.

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Why do you want to play tennis?"

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He said to me, "I want to be
the Jackie Robinson of tennis."

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Arthur: Tennis happened
to suit me mentally.

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That was almost serendipity
in a way.

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I would begin right there
in the playground.

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♪♪

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I am fascinated by what
made people what they are.

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That one moment when their life
changed completely.

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Mine happened
when I was 10 years old.

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And the courts next to my house
in Richmond, Virginia,

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during an idle moment when
the courts weren't being used

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and Dr. Johnson saw me
during that moment.

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Dr. Johnson had been
a physician.

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He built a tennis court
in his backyard,

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and he started
a junior development program

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for young Black kids
in the early '50s,

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and he had helped Althea Gibson
to become terrific.

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Carrington: If you were Black

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and you wanted to get good
at tennis,

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you had to go to Dr. Johnson.

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We get there, you see this clay
court in the yard, lights.

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And this is our life --

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practice, practice, practice,
hone your skills.

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That was called
the Junior Development Program.

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Arthur: Dr. Johnson
also made us read

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just about
every tennis book there was.

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So we sort of internalized
the history of the sport.

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You playing a game
that White guys dominated.

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It was so intimidating.

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Arthur: When I go out
to a competition,

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I was often the only Black kid.

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Simpson: We would arrive
at White tournaments.

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Everybody was gawking at us.

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Like, we were some strange fish

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that they had
never seen before.

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It was not a picnic, folks.

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We not only had
to beat good players,

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but we had to go up against
all of the words that we heard.

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They were not good words.

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Arthur: You get the feeling

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that, "Gee,
I'm really not welcome

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among those people."

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It was just brutal.

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Dr. Johnson literally
picked his prospects

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on the basis of their ability
to be cool, calm, and collected

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in the face of difficulty
on a tennis court.

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Dr. Johnson assumed
that the Black kids

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would be scrutinized
more intensely

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and that you had to give
the White tournament directors

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no excuse at all for ejecting
you from the tournaments.

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So our behavior was to be
above reproach. Always.

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Simpson: That's what Arthur Ashe
came up with --

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a non-confrontational
philosophy.

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Arthur: In Virginia, it is very
easy for a young Black child

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to think,
"Why even bother trying to excel

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if racism is so bad
and no matter what I do,

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it ain't gonna make
a difference?"

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If we had, you know, more than
a smattering of intelligence,

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in order to really use it,
you had to leave,

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and that's what generations
after generations of us did,

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we left to try to make
our mark someplace.

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When I was a senior in high
school, I had to leave Richmond

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because Richmond had
no indoor facilities,

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and secondly, if they had some,

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they probably would have been
in White hands

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and I would not
be able to use them.

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So I went to St. Louis
to finish high school.

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When I got on the plane to go
to St. Louis,

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I could get off the plane,
I could be anything I want.

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No one knew me.

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So not only did my personality
start to change

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because here are people

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with no preconceived notions
about me at all

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and my tennis changed.

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That changed from being a pusher

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to someone
who was a fast-court player.

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I started to take more chances
on the tennis court.

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My forehand changed
a little bit,

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my serve took a quantum leap up
in effectiveness,

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speed, and so forth.

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And that year, I won the
national junior indoor title.

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When I was about to graduate
high school,

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I got a phone call from UCLA.

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The tennis coach called up
and out of the clear blue sky,

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just said, "How would you like
to go to UCLA?"

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I mean, I received
a scholarship sight unseen.

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It took me
all of three seconds to say yes.

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♪♪

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♪♪

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Pasarell: When Arthur and I
arrived at UCLA,

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California
was the hotbed of tennis.

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If you really wanted to expand
your tennis career

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and really become a top
tennis player in the world,

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California was the place
to come.

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UCLA was the perfect place
for us.

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Living at Sproul Hall,
it was great.

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It was a coed dorm.

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A lot of the girls
that lived in the dorm,

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we all became friends.

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Arthur was dating
a couple of them.

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It was a very healthy
social life.

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Interviewer: You mentioned
the excitement

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of your first date
with a White girl at UCLA.

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00:11:34,902 --> 00:11:36,028
Ashe: Yes.

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00:11:36,112 --> 00:11:38,948
Being a Black Southerner,
it was taboo,

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especially when
you have been taught

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and your ancestors,
even during and after slavery,

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were taught that the White woman
was untouchable,

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like she's a queen
and just not to be defiled

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and not to have anything
to do with lesser beings.

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So you have a natural curiosity
about White women.

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Every southern Black man does.

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00:12:02,555 --> 00:12:04,390
But in California,

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00:12:04,473 --> 00:12:08,644
nobody even bat an eye anymore
about interracial dating.

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00:12:09,687 --> 00:12:14,108
Oh, that's a period
of exploration for me.

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It was liberated.

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00:12:16,444 --> 00:12:18,737
Johnnie: His thought patterns
for his life

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were no longer relegated to what
he had learned in Richmond.

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At UCLA,

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he started becoming the citizen
of the world that he became.

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Interviewer #2:
It's inevitable

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that you will be
referred to

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00:12:35,087 --> 00:12:36,839
as the first Negro this
and the first Negro that,

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00:12:36,922 --> 00:12:40,342
that are there still
country clubs in this country

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00:12:40,426 --> 00:12:43,053
where you
wouldn't be welcome?

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00:12:43,137 --> 00:12:44,763
Oh, sure, yes.
Really?

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00:12:44,847 --> 00:12:46,932
Oh, yeah, there are
some tournaments I can't play

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00:12:47,016 --> 00:12:49,643
in Alabama or Louisiana.

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00:12:49,727 --> 00:12:51,520
I'm not a very
militant person anyway.

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So if they don't want me,
it's okay with me.

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00:12:58,861 --> 00:13:00,988
Arthur:
I majored in business at UCLA.

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00:13:01,071 --> 00:13:04,783
That was a very busy time
in my classes

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00:13:04,867 --> 00:13:08,537
and also practice with the team.

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00:13:08,621 --> 00:13:11,290
But when Black students in Black
colleges in the South

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00:13:11,373 --> 00:13:14,793
were getting their heads
kicked in at the sit-ins,

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00:13:14,877 --> 00:13:17,963
I didn't like myself
for not speaking out more.

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00:13:19,965 --> 00:13:23,552
I was more
single-focused about tennis,

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00:13:23,636 --> 00:13:28,015
and I...I felt very guilty
about doing that.

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00:13:28,098 --> 00:13:31,393
Johnnie: Arthur was named
to the Davis Cup team.

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00:13:31,477 --> 00:13:33,395
It was the first time
a person of color

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00:13:33,479 --> 00:13:36,398
made the Davis Cup team.

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He was one of the guys,
and they didn't look at him

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00:13:41,278 --> 00:13:42,488
as a Black tennis player.

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00:13:42,571 --> 00:13:45,241
They looked at him
as a tennis player.

250
00:13:47,201 --> 00:13:50,204
McEnroe: The Davis Cup was, in
essence, our Olympics in tennis

251
00:13:50,287 --> 00:13:52,414
because we didn't have tennis
in the Olympics

252
00:13:52,498 --> 00:13:53,749
until 1988.

253
00:13:53,832 --> 00:13:56,418
For Arthur,
that seemed like a no-brainer.

254
00:13:56,502 --> 00:14:00,256
Like, who wouldn't want
to represent your country?

255
00:14:00,339 --> 00:14:02,424
What it entailed was that
you had to play up

256
00:14:02,508 --> 00:14:04,426
to four weeks a year
if you were gonna win it

257
00:14:04,510 --> 00:14:06,929
and they could be all
over the world,

258
00:14:07,012 --> 00:14:08,430
like home and away series.

259
00:14:08,514 --> 00:14:10,099
And, you know,
if you get a Davis Cup,

260
00:14:10,182 --> 00:14:11,934
that looks good on your résumé.

261
00:14:12,017 --> 00:14:14,812
It was huge to play Davis Cup.

262
00:14:14,895 --> 00:14:16,605
[ Cheers and applause ]

263
00:14:20,526 --> 00:14:23,112
Donald: Arthur was quite
an unusual type.

264
00:14:23,195 --> 00:14:25,781
He was very sort
of skinny and gangly,

265
00:14:25,864 --> 00:14:27,992
and he had a big serve.

266
00:14:28,075 --> 00:14:30,369
Most people serve stationary,

267
00:14:30,452 --> 00:14:32,955
but Arthur kind of jumped
into the court.

268
00:14:33,038 --> 00:14:34,748
He had a tremendous serve.

269
00:14:34,832 --> 00:14:36,792
I mean, whip-like.

270
00:14:36,875 --> 00:14:38,127
But his backhand,

271
00:14:38,210 --> 00:14:41,088
he could hit about
seven different ways.

272
00:14:43,048 --> 00:14:46,635
He was a shot maker, you know.
He would always go for broke.

273
00:14:46,719 --> 00:14:49,305
He didn't really want to have
10 hits in a long rally.

274
00:14:49,388 --> 00:14:50,681
He would hit four or five times,

275
00:14:50,764 --> 00:14:53,684
and then he'd really try
to win the point.

276
00:14:55,936 --> 00:14:59,064
Man #3: Here are four
of the world's best

277
00:14:59,148 --> 00:15:03,319
internationally recognized
players practicing doubles.

278
00:15:03,402 --> 00:15:04,987
Arthur Ashe, bright young member

279
00:15:05,070 --> 00:15:09,074
of the United States Davis Cup
Team, star of the future.

280
00:15:09,158 --> 00:15:10,909
Arthur: The fact that my skin
is brown,

281
00:15:10,993 --> 00:15:12,494
my hair is a certain way,

282
00:15:12,578 --> 00:15:13,996
people look at me --

283
00:15:14,079 --> 00:15:17,416
"Sure, he's a Negro
before anything else.

284
00:15:17,499 --> 00:15:19,043
That's the way it is."

285
00:15:19,126 --> 00:15:21,253
But, no, it's...

286
00:15:21,337 --> 00:15:23,047
Well, it's --
it's almost like money

287
00:15:23,130 --> 00:15:24,340
in the bank for me now in a way.

288
00:15:24,423 --> 00:15:25,883
Interviewer #2:
What do you mean?

289
00:15:25,966 --> 00:15:29,053
Well, in this world
of tennis now,

290
00:15:29,136 --> 00:15:31,847
being the only one,
I'm a drawing card,

291
00:15:31,930 --> 00:15:33,849
whether I like it or not.

292
00:15:36,352 --> 00:15:39,480
Edwards: By the mid 1960s,

293
00:15:39,563 --> 00:15:42,066
Arthur Ashe was
a championship tennis player,

294
00:15:42,149 --> 00:15:46,362
which in and of itself
seems strange.

295
00:15:46,445 --> 00:15:51,283
At that time, we were still
climbing the ladder of inclusion

296
00:15:51,367 --> 00:15:54,578
and access in terms
of even basketball and football,

297
00:15:54,662 --> 00:15:58,999
and here was this guy out
at the country clubs.

298
00:15:59,083 --> 00:16:00,668
I said,
"Let me reach out to him,

299
00:16:00,751 --> 00:16:02,503
bring him in to the movement.

300
00:16:02,586 --> 00:16:05,714
Perhaps there's something that
he can contribute from the form

301
00:16:05,798 --> 00:16:10,135
that he has in this
lily-white institution

302
00:16:10,219 --> 00:16:13,681
of top-tier tennis."

303
00:16:13,764 --> 00:16:15,599
People in this country
are beginning to recognize

304
00:16:15,683 --> 00:16:18,394
that Black people
are human beings also,

305
00:16:18,477 --> 00:16:20,187
and that they are determined
to be treated as such.

306
00:16:20,270 --> 00:16:23,107
And one of the things that I'm
attempting to do at this point

307
00:16:23,190 --> 00:16:28,696
is to bring this point across
by whatever means necessary.

308
00:16:28,779 --> 00:16:31,323
And I think one of those means
that are necessary right now

309
00:16:31,407 --> 00:16:34,410
is the revolt of the
Black athlete in this country.

310
00:16:34,493 --> 00:16:37,621
Athletes were the heroic figures

311
00:16:37,705 --> 00:16:40,958
that Black people looked to
as role models.

312
00:16:41,041 --> 00:16:44,336
So we in the Olympic Project
for Human Rights,

313
00:16:44,420 --> 00:16:49,508
were advocating boycotts
such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did.

314
00:16:49,591 --> 00:16:51,677
Abdul-Jabbar: Basically, we were
trying to point out the futility

315
00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:54,263
of going to the Olympics
and have to come back here

316
00:16:54,346 --> 00:16:58,684
and deal with the oppression
and subjugation.

317
00:16:58,767 --> 00:17:00,728
Reporter #2: Some of the Negro
athletes that I talked to

318
00:17:00,811 --> 00:17:02,938
have said that you're gonna
have trouble mounting

319
00:17:03,021 --> 00:17:04,815
this kind of a boycott
against the Olympics.

320
00:17:04,898 --> 00:17:06,734
I think it's just a matter
of educating people

321
00:17:06,817 --> 00:17:10,612
to accustom Black athletes
to thinking politically.

322
00:17:12,406 --> 00:17:16,410
Carlos: The civil rights era
was in full bloom.

323
00:17:16,493 --> 00:17:19,121
It was a new breed
of Black man coming.

324
00:17:20,914 --> 00:17:24,585
Edwards: Demonstrations such as
Tommie Smith and John Carlos

325
00:17:24,668 --> 00:17:28,672
did shut down
of racist institutions

326
00:17:28,756 --> 00:17:31,467
such as what we did
with the New York Athletic Club.

327
00:17:31,550 --> 00:17:32,968
There's nothing I would
like better

328
00:17:33,051 --> 00:17:36,054
than to see the whole thing
be shut down completely.

329
00:17:36,138 --> 00:17:38,265
When I contacted Arthur,

330
00:17:38,348 --> 00:17:39,933
the first thing he told me
was, "Harry,

331
00:17:40,017 --> 00:17:43,854
I understand what you're doing,
but that's not my way."

332
00:17:45,230 --> 00:17:48,108
And I thought,
"I know he gets it.

333
00:17:48,192 --> 00:17:50,152
He's in the bowels of the beast.

334
00:17:50,235 --> 00:17:53,655
The only one that's out there
on a tennis court,

335
00:17:53,739 --> 00:17:56,825
the only one that's
at the country club.

336
00:17:56,909 --> 00:17:58,869
So I know he knows
what the deal is.

337
00:17:58,952 --> 00:18:02,664
And still, he says,
'that's not my way.'"

338
00:18:02,748 --> 00:18:04,666
And I said to myself,
"You know what?

339
00:18:04,750 --> 00:18:09,129
After all of that,
this guy must be an Uncle Tom."

340
00:18:09,213 --> 00:18:14,676
♪♪

341
00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:16,678
Arthur: All around me,
I saw these athletes

342
00:18:16,762 --> 00:18:21,350
stepping out in front
trying to demand civil rights.

343
00:18:21,433 --> 00:18:23,894
But I was still
with mixed emotions.

344
00:18:25,646 --> 00:18:27,356
He used to say to me,
"Don't do anything

345
00:18:27,439 --> 00:18:29,107
that will hurt yourself later.

346
00:18:29,191 --> 00:18:31,777
Things that you're doing
can come back to haunt you."

347
00:18:33,821 --> 00:18:36,907
He worried about doing anything

348
00:18:36,990 --> 00:18:39,368
that would discredit
the family name

349
00:18:39,451 --> 00:18:41,245
because he knew
that was so important to Daddy

350
00:18:41,328 --> 00:18:43,914
and it was important to him.

351
00:18:45,999 --> 00:18:50,754
Arthur: Self-doubt? Yes.
Self-loathing? Yes.

352
00:18:50,838 --> 00:18:52,631
There really were times
when I felt

353
00:18:52,714 --> 00:18:56,385
that maybe I was a coward
for not doing certain things,

354
00:18:56,468 --> 00:18:58,929
by not joining this protest
or whatever.

355
00:18:59,012 --> 00:19:04,434
[ People chanting
"Hell no, we won't go!" ]

356
00:19:04,518 --> 00:19:05,978
Ali: It's about going to war
with my people,

357
00:19:06,061 --> 00:19:10,023
receive their freedoms,
justice and equality.

358
00:19:10,107 --> 00:19:12,734
You wouldn't have to draft me.
I'll go tomorrow.

359
00:19:12,818 --> 00:19:16,196
♪♪

360
00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:20,993
In the '60s, it was Muhammad Ali
and Arthur Ashe,

361
00:19:21,076 --> 00:19:23,036
and they were really
two extremes.

362
00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:26,373
♪ Sunshine, blue skies ♪

363
00:19:26,456 --> 00:19:28,417
♪ Please go away ♪

364
00:19:28,500 --> 00:19:31,336
One very vocal
and one not very vocal,

365
00:19:31,420 --> 00:19:35,382
one that identified
in the Black way

366
00:19:35,465 --> 00:19:37,467
and one that could
enter these environments

367
00:19:37,551 --> 00:19:41,972
that were the finest clubs and
facilities of White America.

368
00:19:42,055 --> 00:19:44,182
♪ I'll stay locked up
in my room ♪

369
00:19:44,266 --> 00:19:46,852
♪ I know to you ♪

370
00:19:46,935 --> 00:19:49,271
♪ It might sound strange ♪

371
00:19:49,354 --> 00:19:51,940
♪ But I wish it would rain ♪

372
00:19:52,024 --> 00:19:54,359
♪ Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪

373
00:19:54,443 --> 00:19:59,948
I remember Kareem referring
to Arthur Ashe as Arthur Ass.

374
00:20:00,032 --> 00:20:03,160
Arthur just wasn't aggressive
enough with his stand

375
00:20:03,243 --> 00:20:05,579
on racism in tennis.

376
00:20:05,662 --> 00:20:07,122
He was our tennis hero.

377
00:20:07,205 --> 00:20:10,626
But that's like
O.J. can play football.

378
00:20:10,709 --> 00:20:12,377
He wasn't my hero.

379
00:20:12,461 --> 00:20:15,923
Arthur Ashe -- that conjured up
a whole image --

380
00:20:16,006 --> 00:20:20,969
internationalism,
nice guy crosses over.

381
00:20:21,053 --> 00:20:24,473
Arthur: In the '60s,
I was much more impressionable.

382
00:20:24,556 --> 00:20:27,434
I had some friends
who used to try to get me --

383
00:20:27,517 --> 00:20:30,479
social issues
of civil rights matters --

384
00:20:30,562 --> 00:20:33,941
to put them on a shelf
or downplay their role

385
00:20:34,024 --> 00:20:37,486
because the trade-off
would be not doing so well

386
00:20:37,569 --> 00:20:39,154
on the tennis court.

387
00:20:41,156 --> 00:20:43,533
And if you were in the middle
in those days,

388
00:20:43,617 --> 00:20:44,910
if you were a moderate,

389
00:20:44,993 --> 00:20:47,663
it was the same thing
as being an Uncle Tom.

390
00:20:49,957 --> 00:20:52,960
Donald: At the time,
I don't really think

391
00:20:53,043 --> 00:20:56,338
that he wanted to be
an outspoken leader

392
00:20:56,421 --> 00:20:58,674
of the civil rights movement.

393
00:20:58,757 --> 00:21:01,051
And I think partly
because of his father.

394
00:21:01,134 --> 00:21:04,179
His father had tremendous
respect for authority

395
00:21:04,262 --> 00:21:09,309
and was anything but
a flag burner or a bomb thrower.

396
00:21:11,436 --> 00:21:13,730
Johnnie: Daddy was
a strict disciplinarian.

397
00:21:13,814 --> 00:21:16,316
No holds barred.

398
00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:19,194
First day, no matter what school
we went to,

399
00:21:19,278 --> 00:21:22,990
he would tell the principals,
"This is my boy.

400
00:21:23,073 --> 00:21:26,368
If he does anything wrong
at any time,

401
00:21:26,451 --> 00:21:27,995
you discipline him here,

402
00:21:28,078 --> 00:21:31,248
give me a call and I'm gonna
discipline him at home."

403
00:21:31,331 --> 00:21:35,419
That discipline was designed
to protect us.

404
00:21:37,295 --> 00:21:39,965
Arthur: There was always a
rather strong bond

405
00:21:40,048 --> 00:21:42,175
between my father,
my brother and me

406
00:21:42,259 --> 00:21:46,304
because my mother died
when I was 6 years old.

407
00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:51,018
I remember feeling sort of lost.

408
00:21:54,396 --> 00:21:56,690
I withdrew, people told me.

409
00:21:56,773 --> 00:22:00,736
I remember a feeling
that I couldn't trust anybody.

410
00:22:04,865 --> 00:22:08,410
Jeanne: Arthur had very few
memories of her,

411
00:22:08,493 --> 00:22:13,123
and one of them was the day
that she --

412
00:22:13,206 --> 00:22:15,459
that she died.

413
00:22:15,542 --> 00:22:17,586
She was wearing a blue robe.

414
00:22:17,669 --> 00:22:20,255
There was a bird singing
in the tree,

415
00:22:20,338 --> 00:22:22,966
and he remembers her
leaving the house.

416
00:22:23,050 --> 00:22:25,635
She was being taken
to the hospital

417
00:22:25,719 --> 00:22:27,387
and that she didn't come back.

418
00:22:27,471 --> 00:22:32,225
♪♪

419
00:22:32,309 --> 00:22:36,897
♪♪

420
00:22:36,980 --> 00:22:39,816
Daddy had the responsibility
of bringing us up.

421
00:22:42,152 --> 00:22:45,530
But...

422
00:22:45,614 --> 00:22:50,827
paramount in his mind is
bringing us up in a way

423
00:22:50,911 --> 00:22:53,830
that our mother would approve.

424
00:22:56,041 --> 00:22:57,918
Arthur would do his homework

425
00:22:58,001 --> 00:23:00,879
and he would read
the newspaper to Daddy

426
00:23:00,962 --> 00:23:04,132
because Daddy couldn't read.

427
00:23:04,216 --> 00:23:09,596
All over the South, there were
still people being hung.

428
00:23:09,679 --> 00:23:12,641
Arthur: There was a time
when if you were Black,

429
00:23:12,724 --> 00:23:15,394
especially in the South,
you cowed in fear

430
00:23:15,477 --> 00:23:18,605
of offending the sensibilities
of somebody who was White.

431
00:23:20,982 --> 00:23:22,442
When you talk about things
I remember

432
00:23:22,526 --> 00:23:24,861
that had made an impression
on me in my life

433
00:23:24,945 --> 00:23:26,696
when I was a kid,

434
00:23:26,780 --> 00:23:28,949
obviously I remember
my mother dying,

435
00:23:29,032 --> 00:23:32,786
I remember Emmett Till.

436
00:23:32,869 --> 00:23:34,329
Whew. Boy.

437
00:23:34,413 --> 00:23:38,125
Reporter #3: Emmett Till, 14,
was kidnapped and killed,

438
00:23:38,208 --> 00:23:40,001
allegedly for wolf-whistling

439
00:23:40,085 --> 00:23:42,838
at the wife of accused
Roy Bryant.

440
00:23:42,921 --> 00:23:45,340
Bryant and his half brother,
J.W. Milam,

441
00:23:45,423 --> 00:23:48,510
were acquitted by this jury
and subsequently,

442
00:23:48,593 --> 00:23:51,012
even though they admitted
taking the boy from the house,

443
00:23:51,096 --> 00:23:53,890
they were freed
of kidnap charges.

444
00:23:56,101 --> 00:24:02,023
Arthur: Emmett Till was beaten,
mutilated, murdered.

445
00:24:02,107 --> 00:24:03,692
If you're Black
and you're my age

446
00:24:03,775 --> 00:24:07,195
and you were born in America,
you know who Emmett Till is,

447
00:24:07,279 --> 00:24:10,448
even if you're illiterate.

448
00:24:10,532 --> 00:24:12,534
In the South, if you got angry
too quickly,

449
00:24:12,617 --> 00:24:14,911
I mean,
your life would be in danger.

450
00:24:14,995 --> 00:24:19,249
♪♪

451
00:24:19,332 --> 00:24:20,917
Carrington: It was a different
kind of realness

452
00:24:21,001 --> 00:24:25,213
to a southern Black kid
than it was to a northern kid.

453
00:24:25,297 --> 00:24:28,258
We went to play tennis
at one of the public schools

454
00:24:28,341 --> 00:24:31,469
and the football team
was out there that day.

455
00:24:31,553 --> 00:24:33,346
I never heard "nigger"
so much in my life.

456
00:24:33,430 --> 00:24:35,515
It was like, "Look at those
niggers play tennis."

457
00:24:35,599 --> 00:24:38,393
And so..."Play nigger, play."
You know what I mean?

458
00:24:38,476 --> 00:24:41,563
So when I went downtown,
you know, I didn't notice --

459
00:24:41,646 --> 00:24:44,983
You could really
never be seen again.

460
00:24:45,066 --> 00:24:47,402
That's what happened
with Emmett Till.

461
00:24:47,485 --> 00:24:51,573
♪♪

462
00:24:51,656 --> 00:24:54,910
Johnnie: The incident
with Emmett Till

463
00:24:54,993 --> 00:24:56,786
caused Arthur to realize

464
00:24:56,870 --> 00:25:01,082
that there was another side
of segregation

465
00:25:01,166 --> 00:25:02,918
that we hadn't experienced.

466
00:25:03,001 --> 00:25:05,420
The true ugliness of it.

467
00:25:05,503 --> 00:25:09,591
He couldn't understand
the nature of a person

468
00:25:09,674 --> 00:25:12,761
who would commit
an atrocity like that.

469
00:25:12,844 --> 00:25:13,970
Arthur:
There's a tug-of-war

470
00:25:14,054 --> 00:25:17,098
between those two feelings
about it.

471
00:25:17,182 --> 00:25:20,519
Keep quiet
and keep your own counsel.

472
00:25:20,602 --> 00:25:26,274
And the inclination
to push back and protest,

473
00:25:26,358 --> 00:25:27,442
that is still --

474
00:25:27,525 --> 00:25:31,238
Even now
that's tension that I feel.

475
00:25:31,321 --> 00:25:33,156
And obviously that came smack up

476
00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:35,283
against the Black
social revolution

477
00:25:35,367 --> 00:25:38,995
when the thicker your afro was
the more status you had.

478
00:25:40,413 --> 00:25:43,124
I'm African-American,
make no bones about it,

479
00:25:43,208 --> 00:25:44,626
but I am more than that.

480
00:25:44,709 --> 00:25:47,420
The fact that you want me to act
like somebody

481
00:25:47,504 --> 00:25:49,839
who is a stereotypical
African-American

482
00:25:49,923 --> 00:25:51,925
who is supposed to say this,
do that,

483
00:25:52,008 --> 00:25:55,553
act this way,
they got the wrong person.

484
00:25:55,637 --> 00:25:59,933
♪♪

485
00:26:00,016 --> 00:26:04,604
Johnnie: In 1965,
Arthur was in college.

486
00:26:04,688 --> 00:26:06,648
I got a letter from him

487
00:26:06,731 --> 00:26:09,192
telling me
that he was in the ROTC.

488
00:26:09,276 --> 00:26:11,194
You know, that surprised me.

489
00:26:11,278 --> 00:26:15,323
I just never saw him
going that way.

490
00:26:17,242 --> 00:26:19,327
Cosell: Arthur, did you ever
contemplate avoidance

491
00:26:19,411 --> 00:26:20,495
of the military service

492
00:26:20,578 --> 00:26:22,163
because
of the discrimination

493
00:26:22,247 --> 00:26:23,957
directed against
your people

494
00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:25,166
in this country?

495
00:26:25,250 --> 00:26:27,085
No, because freedom

496
00:26:27,168 --> 00:26:28,253
is something
you want to protect.

497
00:26:28,336 --> 00:26:29,713
I'd rather be an American

498
00:26:29,796 --> 00:26:32,007
and slightly
discriminated against

499
00:26:32,090 --> 00:26:34,134
than anything else.

500
00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:39,222
Arthur: Professional tennis
didn't exist

501
00:26:39,306 --> 00:26:40,932
when I was at UCLA,

502
00:26:41,016 --> 00:26:44,477
and so I had always planned
to graduate, go into the army,

503
00:26:44,561 --> 00:26:48,064
and then I was going to bum
around the world

504
00:26:48,148 --> 00:26:49,232
as an amateur player

505
00:26:49,316 --> 00:26:50,984
and then go back
to graduate school.

506
00:26:51,067 --> 00:26:53,987
♪ You didn't have to treat me
like you did ♪

507
00:26:54,070 --> 00:26:56,865
♪ But you did, but you did ♪

508
00:26:56,948 --> 00:26:58,491
♪ And I thank you ♪

509
00:26:58,575 --> 00:27:01,202
Arthur: My brother went into
the Marine Corps at age 17,

510
00:27:01,286 --> 00:27:03,079
not having graduated
from high school.

511
00:27:03,163 --> 00:27:05,040
And I volunteered for ROTC.

512
00:27:05,123 --> 00:27:07,042
I knew that I would go
into the Army.

513
00:27:07,125 --> 00:27:11,212
And if I did, I wanted to be
an officer, not a private.

514
00:27:11,296 --> 00:27:14,716
Johnnie: Arthur's experience
in the Army

515
00:27:14,799 --> 00:27:17,719
was entirely different
from mine.

516
00:27:17,802 --> 00:27:19,429
Boot camp in the Marine Corps,

517
00:27:19,512 --> 00:27:22,557
there was no such thing
as social grace.

518
00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:26,394
Your whole purpose in life
was to prepare for war.

519
00:27:26,478 --> 00:27:31,107
♪♪

520
00:27:31,191 --> 00:27:34,402
Had Arthur had to deal
with Vietnam,

521
00:27:34,486 --> 00:27:39,032
it would have taken him away
from tennis right at the time

522
00:27:39,115 --> 00:27:43,244
when he was becoming
a very good tennis player,

523
00:27:43,328 --> 00:27:46,790
capable of winning the majors.

524
00:27:46,873 --> 00:27:50,210
I didn't want anything to get
in the way

525
00:27:50,293 --> 00:27:53,880
of the possibilities
of Arthur's life.

526
00:27:55,590 --> 00:27:57,050
While I was in Vietnam,

527
00:27:57,133 --> 00:28:02,472
I realized that if I went home
as I was scheduled,

528
00:28:02,555 --> 00:28:06,935
that Arthur would be subject
to going to Vietnam.

529
00:28:07,018 --> 00:28:16,319
♪♪

530
00:28:16,403 --> 00:28:23,535
♪♪

531
00:28:23,618 --> 00:28:26,287
Because of families

532
00:28:26,371 --> 00:28:31,167
in the Second World War
losing all surviving sons,

533
00:28:31,251 --> 00:28:33,002
the military came out
with a rule

534
00:28:33,086 --> 00:28:35,422
that there would
never be brothers

535
00:28:35,505 --> 00:28:38,133
in combat at the same time.

536
00:28:38,216 --> 00:28:43,304
So did the paperwork,
and I got a second tour.

537
00:28:43,388 --> 00:28:47,100
♪♪

538
00:28:47,183 --> 00:28:50,979
Soon after that, Arthur was
coming over to Vietnam

539
00:28:51,062 --> 00:28:53,648
on a USO tour
with the Davis Cup team.

540
00:28:55,233 --> 00:28:59,404
They were at camp,
and they got live fire.

541
00:28:59,487 --> 00:29:01,322
They were getting shot at.

542
00:29:01,406 --> 00:29:04,367
Pasarell:
We walked into the hospital,

543
00:29:04,451 --> 00:29:08,163
and it was really
a pretty horrific scene.

544
00:29:08,246 --> 00:29:11,624
Wounded soldiers,
missing arms and legs.

545
00:29:14,419 --> 00:29:17,172
And Arthur just was
so taken aback

546
00:29:17,255 --> 00:29:20,383
that he literally ran
outside of the hospital.

547
00:29:22,302 --> 00:29:26,473
He said, "I was scared
to the point of defecation."

548
00:29:29,309 --> 00:29:32,562
That sort of brought it home.

549
00:29:32,645 --> 00:29:37,734
And it caused me to realize
that I had done the right thing

550
00:29:37,817 --> 00:29:40,737
at the right time
for the right reason.

551
00:29:43,364 --> 00:29:45,325
Pasarell:
Arthur graduated from UCLA.

552
00:29:45,408 --> 00:29:46,826
And by that time was already

553
00:29:46,910 --> 00:29:49,537
one of the outstanding
tennis players in the world.

554
00:29:49,621 --> 00:29:53,374
And so the Army
looked after him.

555
00:29:53,458 --> 00:29:56,961
Jeanne: The Army gave Arthur
an opportunity

556
00:29:57,045 --> 00:29:59,589
to continue in the Army

557
00:29:59,672 --> 00:30:02,509
but also continue
with his tennis.

558
00:30:02,592 --> 00:30:05,845
So he was stationed
at West Point.

559
00:30:08,056 --> 00:30:10,099
Amdur: In January 1968,

560
00:30:10,183 --> 00:30:14,270
I was covering
tennis at "The New York Times."

561
00:30:14,354 --> 00:30:16,356
Arthur Ashe was at West Point

562
00:30:16,439 --> 00:30:18,525
in their data-processing
department

563
00:30:18,608 --> 00:30:21,861
and I thought I'd go up
and interview Arthur.

564
00:30:23,905 --> 00:30:27,742
♪ What would I give? ♪

565
00:30:27,825 --> 00:30:29,577
I got the distinct impression

566
00:30:29,661 --> 00:30:31,496
that Arthur was beginning
to realize

567
00:30:31,579 --> 00:30:35,375
what he was capable of being
off the court,

568
00:30:35,458 --> 00:30:39,379
that he could be a spokesperson
for social change.

569
00:30:41,005 --> 00:30:42,757
Arthur: I felt that I was coming
into my own

570
00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:48,137
as far as being able to say
what I wanted to say

571
00:30:48,221 --> 00:30:51,099
and have it be taken seriously.

572
00:30:51,182 --> 00:30:52,642
Amdur: He had been approached

573
00:30:52,725 --> 00:30:54,936
about making a talk
in Washington, D.C.,

574
00:30:55,019 --> 00:30:59,274
which would be the first time to
really put himself on the line

575
00:30:59,357 --> 00:31:01,859
to reveal some of the ideas
that he had.

576
00:31:01,943 --> 00:31:06,072
♪ Slip away, yeah ♪

577
00:31:06,155 --> 00:31:08,950
♪ Oh, I need you so ♪

578
00:31:09,033 --> 00:31:13,121
♪♪

579
00:31:13,204 --> 00:31:17,208
♪ Love, oh, love ♪

580
00:31:17,292 --> 00:31:18,793
♪ How sweet ♪

581
00:31:18,876 --> 00:31:21,754
Arthur: I tried to make sure
that someplace in my speech

582
00:31:21,838 --> 00:31:25,883
addressed the Black athlete
in contemporary society,

583
00:31:25,967 --> 00:31:27,552
and I talked about voting.

584
00:31:27,635 --> 00:31:33,725
And at some point in the speech,
a political kind of thing,

585
00:31:33,808 --> 00:31:38,605
which was clearly improper
since I was in the Army.

586
00:31:38,688 --> 00:31:41,774
Amdur: He was just now
forming his own ideas.

587
00:31:41,858 --> 00:31:46,321
It wasn't any kind of
overt demonstration by Arthur,

588
00:31:46,404 --> 00:31:48,823
but to the superiors
at West Point,

589
00:31:48,906 --> 00:31:52,535
giving the talk has
some provocative nature to it.

590
00:31:54,370 --> 00:31:56,247
Interviewer #3: You spoke out
for the responsibilities

591
00:31:56,331 --> 00:31:59,542
for Blacks by Blacks,
and you were at West Point

592
00:31:59,626 --> 00:32:01,127
Arthur:
Oh, in the Army, yes.

593
00:32:01,210 --> 00:32:02,462
This was a turning point
for you.

594
00:32:02,545 --> 00:32:03,963
It's against the rules.
First time --

595
00:32:04,047 --> 00:32:05,214
Yeah, verbal. And you
paid for it, right?

596
00:32:05,298 --> 00:32:07,508
Yeah, I certainly did.
Yes.

597
00:32:07,592 --> 00:32:09,677
The superintendent
at the academy

598
00:32:09,761 --> 00:32:11,179
literally called me
on the carpet,

599
00:32:11,262 --> 00:32:13,640
so to speak, and said,
"Do not do that anymore,

600
00:32:13,723 --> 00:32:15,642
or we're gonna have
problems up here."

601
00:32:15,725 --> 00:32:18,394
Not that I felt I was immune
from any punishment.

602
00:32:18,478 --> 00:32:21,689
It's just that it was
just a very difficult time

603
00:32:21,773 --> 00:32:23,024
being Black in 1968,

604
00:32:23,107 --> 00:32:24,692
with everything that happened
that year.

605
00:32:24,776 --> 00:32:27,195
It was a very difficult year
for Black America.

606
00:32:27,278 --> 00:32:31,449
♪♪

607
00:32:31,532 --> 00:32:33,576
April of that year, 1968,

608
00:32:33,660 --> 00:32:38,498
I was driving down from
West Point to practice tennis,

609
00:32:38,581 --> 00:32:42,710
and I was on the George
Washington Bridge

610
00:32:42,794 --> 00:32:47,465
when I heard
that Dr. King had been shot.

611
00:32:47,548 --> 00:32:49,050
Man #4:
At 7:10 this evening,

612
00:32:49,133 --> 00:32:52,637
Martin Luther King
was shot in Tennessee.

613
00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:56,683
Arthur: I pulled my car over the
side just to think about it.

614
00:32:56,766 --> 00:32:59,811
Martin Luther King,
20 minutes ago died.

615
00:32:59,894 --> 00:33:01,312
[ Crowd gasps ]

616
00:33:03,940 --> 00:33:07,360
Arthur:
I was, uh, very angry.

617
00:33:07,443 --> 00:33:11,489
I also felt slightly helpless.

618
00:33:11,572 --> 00:33:13,366
Things would be different now
because I mean,

619
00:33:13,449 --> 00:33:17,495
he was sort of seen as our
knight in shining armor.

620
00:33:18,788 --> 00:33:22,125
Reporter #4: Crowds gathered
along Harlem's 125th Street

621
00:33:22,208 --> 00:33:24,919
within two hours
of Dr. King's death,

622
00:33:25,002 --> 00:33:26,462
and they soon became mobs.

623
00:33:26,546 --> 00:33:27,922
Reporter #5:
Race riots broke out...

624
00:33:28,005 --> 00:33:29,590
Reporter #6: ...followed
in Black communities

625
00:33:29,674 --> 00:33:32,593
in Washington, Chicago, New
York, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh.

626
00:33:32,677 --> 00:33:34,429
Reporter #7: 100 cities
rage with riot.

627
00:33:34,512 --> 00:33:36,889
39 died, 20,000 are arrested.

628
00:33:36,973 --> 00:33:40,017
Reporter #8: An uncontrolled
carnival of looting began.

629
00:33:40,101 --> 00:33:43,438
Reporter #7: 50,000 troops
must March to stop them.

630
00:33:43,521 --> 00:33:47,942
♪♪

631
00:33:48,025 --> 00:33:51,612
Arthur: I had not seen that
much commotion in the streets,

632
00:33:51,696 --> 00:33:54,115
possibly ever in my lifetime.

633
00:33:56,909 --> 00:34:03,040
Martin Luther King
dedicated his life

634
00:34:03,124 --> 00:34:05,793
to love and to justice

635
00:34:05,877 --> 00:34:09,255
between fellow human beings.

636
00:34:09,338 --> 00:34:12,675
He died in the cause
of that effort.

637
00:34:12,759 --> 00:34:16,512
♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪

638
00:34:16,596 --> 00:34:20,266
Arthur: Robert Kennedy,
I actually knew I knew him.

639
00:34:20,349 --> 00:34:23,019
We were with him
on his campaign train.

640
00:34:25,062 --> 00:34:27,523
Dell:
When Bobby decided to run,

641
00:34:27,607 --> 00:34:30,401
I was in charge as what
they call the lead advance.

642
00:34:30,485 --> 00:34:32,195
You'd have different teams
in different states

643
00:34:32,278 --> 00:34:34,447
and my state was California.

644
00:34:36,365 --> 00:34:38,826
Kennedy:
I run to seek new policies,

645
00:34:38,910 --> 00:34:42,497
policies to end the bloodshed
in Vietnam

646
00:34:42,580 --> 00:34:43,956
and in our cities.

647
00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:47,668
Arthur: Bobby was White.
He was Ivy League.

648
00:34:47,752 --> 00:34:49,712
He was rich.

649
00:34:49,796 --> 00:34:53,174
But nonetheless, you believed
in Bobby Kennedy.

650
00:34:53,257 --> 00:34:55,051
You know, if you're Black
growing up in the South,

651
00:34:55,134 --> 00:34:57,220
you have
an extra set of antenna.

652
00:34:57,303 --> 00:34:58,429
You have a third eye,

653
00:34:58,513 --> 00:35:00,348
and you can spot a phony
most of the time.

654
00:35:00,431 --> 00:35:01,891
And Bobby Kennedy was not phony.

655
00:35:01,974 --> 00:35:03,726
[ Chanting "RFK" ]

656
00:35:08,147 --> 00:35:09,524
Kennedy:
My thanks to all of you,

657
00:35:09,607 --> 00:35:11,567
and now it's on to Chicago,
and let's win there.

658
00:35:11,651 --> 00:35:13,486
[ Cheers and applause ]

659
00:35:13,569 --> 00:35:16,364
And then suddenly, you know,
everyone was running

660
00:35:16,447 --> 00:35:18,032
in every direction and --

661
00:35:18,115 --> 00:35:20,701
and somebody would say, "We
think the senator's been shot."

662
00:35:20,785 --> 00:35:22,078
Man #6: What is it?

663
00:35:22,161 --> 00:35:23,704
And it was just chaos.

664
00:35:23,788 --> 00:35:25,206
Woman: Please.
It's very important.

665
00:35:25,289 --> 00:35:26,624
We need
a doctor immediately.

666
00:35:26,707 --> 00:35:28,751
Make room! Make room!
Make room! Make room!

667
00:35:28,835 --> 00:35:31,045
Arthur: Knowing that
we had seen him

668
00:35:31,128 --> 00:35:36,926
just the day before that,
it -- it was really sobering.

669
00:35:38,678 --> 00:35:41,389
RFK's assassination
almost seemed to step

670
00:35:41,472 --> 00:35:44,100
on the assassination
of Dr. King.

671
00:35:44,183 --> 00:35:48,938
1968, all of these things
sort of coalesced.

672
00:35:51,107 --> 00:35:55,403
Being a Black American,
I felt a sense of urgency

673
00:35:55,486 --> 00:35:59,156
that I want to do something,
but I didn't know what it was.

674
00:36:01,784 --> 00:36:04,370
Young:
There was a total desperation

675
00:36:04,453 --> 00:36:06,038
in the Black community.

676
00:36:06,122 --> 00:36:08,666
What do we do now?

677
00:36:08,749 --> 00:36:13,170
Arthur was trying to figure out
how he could help,

678
00:36:13,254 --> 00:36:17,216
that would be consistent with
his life as a tennis player.

679
00:36:18,843 --> 00:36:21,929
Man #7: 1968 was a seminal
moment in tennis.

680
00:36:22,013 --> 00:36:27,435
Prior to 1968, the pros
and the amateurs were separated

681
00:36:27,518 --> 00:36:29,937
until open tennis arrived.

682
00:36:31,439 --> 00:36:34,066
Before '68, it was
almost impossible

683
00:36:34,150 --> 00:36:36,819
to make any sort of real
living off tennis.

684
00:36:36,903 --> 00:36:40,865
Now you have a big prize money
and professionals.

685
00:36:40,948 --> 00:36:42,992
Evans: A revolution
has taken place --

686
00:36:43,075 --> 00:36:44,785
the first open Wimbledon.

687
00:36:44,869 --> 00:36:46,162
Arthur: Now suddenly

688
00:36:46,245 --> 00:36:48,915
you had a much higher level
of competition.

689
00:36:48,998 --> 00:36:52,627
And it struck me right off
playing at Wimbledon.

690
00:36:52,710 --> 00:36:54,128
Announcer:
Ashe seems nervous.

691
00:36:54,211 --> 00:36:56,213
Laver's ferocious
top-spinning backhand

692
00:36:56,297 --> 00:36:58,132
is tearing Arthur's game apart.

693
00:36:58,215 --> 00:37:02,094
The gathering twilight,
Laver serves for the match.

694
00:37:02,178 --> 00:37:03,554
Ashe into the net.

695
00:37:03,638 --> 00:37:07,808
Rodney George Laver will meet
Tony Roche in the final.

696
00:37:07,892 --> 00:37:10,269
Arthur: I think I sort of folded
in the semifinals

697
00:37:10,353 --> 00:37:12,021
against Rod Laver.

698
00:37:12,104 --> 00:37:15,149
That loss encouraged me
to surmount that

699
00:37:15,232 --> 00:37:18,986
and go on further
because I was damn close.

700
00:37:20,404 --> 00:37:21,822
Young: After that Wimbledon,

701
00:37:21,906 --> 00:37:25,493
Arthur decided that
he didn't have to say a word,

702
00:37:25,576 --> 00:37:29,080
but his racket had to talk.

703
00:37:29,163 --> 00:37:30,414
Announcer:
Beautiful serve.

704
00:37:30,498 --> 00:37:31,832
Announcer #2:
Another ace. 14.

705
00:37:31,916 --> 00:37:35,086
Announcer #3: Ace. Slides it
over to win the game.

706
00:37:35,169 --> 00:37:36,545
Announcer #4:
Comes back with it!

707
00:37:36,629 --> 00:37:38,589
Oh, my. Look at that.

708
00:37:39,882 --> 00:37:42,343
Announcer #5: Arthur Ashe.

709
00:37:42,426 --> 00:37:43,844
-Oh.
-Oh, nice shot.

710
00:37:47,014 --> 00:37:49,684
Arthur:
'68 was a sensational period

711
00:37:49,767 --> 00:37:54,105
because I went two months
without losing a match anyplace.

712
00:37:54,188 --> 00:37:56,107
Announcer #6: Arthur Ashe wins
a tremendous victory.

713
00:37:56,190 --> 00:37:58,943
Arthur: You only play as well
as your confidence lets you.

714
00:37:59,026 --> 00:38:00,903
If you are very confident,
you can do anything.

715
00:38:00,987 --> 00:38:03,823
I can hit the ball backwards
if I'm confident.

716
00:38:06,117 --> 00:38:10,705
And then it's time
for our first U.S. Open.

717
00:38:10,788 --> 00:38:14,834
This is my own country,
my own backyard.

718
00:38:14,917 --> 00:38:17,545
Forest Hills.

719
00:38:17,628 --> 00:38:20,381
Again, I'm the only Black
in the tournament,

720
00:38:20,464 --> 00:38:22,675
so I found it felt important.

721
00:38:24,635 --> 00:38:26,762
I'll have trouble
sleeping tonight,

722
00:38:26,846 --> 00:38:28,723
and I'll wake up
very early tomorrow morning,

723
00:38:28,806 --> 00:38:30,224
like about 5:00.

724
00:38:30,307 --> 00:38:32,309
The first thing that will race
through my mind will be

725
00:38:32,393 --> 00:38:35,438
[inaudible] coming back
at me at twice the speed.

726
00:38:35,521 --> 00:38:37,857
[ Rain falling ]

727
00:38:39,859 --> 00:38:41,777
Evans:
The first ever U.S. Open final

728
00:38:41,861 --> 00:38:44,905
ended up being played
on a Monday because of rain.

729
00:38:44,989 --> 00:38:48,075
Surprisingly, it was Arthur Ashe
against Tom Okker,

730
00:38:48,159 --> 00:38:51,037
the Flying Dutchman,
as we called him.

731
00:38:51,120 --> 00:38:54,457
The big server against
the very fleet-footed,

732
00:38:54,540 --> 00:38:57,585
tenacious Dutchman.

733
00:38:57,668 --> 00:39:00,171
Announcer: Good afternoon.
We're reaching the climax

734
00:39:00,254 --> 00:39:01,964
of an extraordinary event
in tennis.

735
00:39:02,048 --> 00:39:06,927
The first U.S. Open.
$100,000 in prize money.

736
00:39:07,011 --> 00:39:09,013
Arthur:
There was so much happening --

737
00:39:09,096 --> 00:39:10,514
Dr. King's assassination,

738
00:39:10,598 --> 00:39:14,810
Bobby Kennedy's assassination,
riots in Newark, L.A.

739
00:39:14,894 --> 00:39:17,021
You didn't get
five minutes to breathe.

740
00:39:17,104 --> 00:39:20,775
Man #8: He's the only Negro male
ever to do anything in tennis.

741
00:39:20,858 --> 00:39:23,110
Man #2: He is not White.

742
00:39:23,194 --> 00:39:24,904
Carrington: "Look at those
niggers play tennis."

743
00:39:24,987 --> 00:39:27,281
Man #9: The black lining
in the white cloud.

744
00:39:27,364 --> 00:39:29,200
Arthur Ashe.
How's your confidence?

745
00:39:29,283 --> 00:39:30,618
At its zenith,
I guess,

746
00:39:30,701 --> 00:39:32,286
about five
or six minutes ago,

747
00:39:32,369 --> 00:39:34,789
but now it's all the way
back down again.

748
00:39:34,872 --> 00:39:37,917
Although I'll be in there
trying as hard as I can.

749
00:39:39,919 --> 00:39:42,129
Announcer:
Here goes Arthur Ashe now

750
00:39:42,213 --> 00:39:44,215
leading off
with the first serve

751
00:39:44,298 --> 00:39:45,966
for the championship.

752
00:39:46,050 --> 00:39:48,969
♪♪

753
00:39:49,053 --> 00:39:51,097
Losing the first point
to Tom Okker.

754
00:39:51,180 --> 00:39:53,516
Some of them call him Tiny Tom.

755
00:39:53,599 --> 00:39:55,309
He's only 5'7 1/2".

756
00:39:57,770 --> 00:39:59,146
Game for Ashe.

757
00:39:59,230 --> 00:40:01,982
First game for Arthur Ashe.

758
00:40:03,651 --> 00:40:06,654
Arthur: There are
terrific variations

759
00:40:06,737 --> 00:40:08,697
in emotional intensity
in a match.

760
00:40:08,781 --> 00:40:13,327
It can be a weapon that works
without having to hit a ball.

761
00:40:13,410 --> 00:40:14,954
Game for Okker.

762
00:40:16,747 --> 00:40:18,624
Announcer:
Arthur Ashe now serving again.

763
00:40:18,707 --> 00:40:21,001
Malkemes: The first set
was long and tough.

764
00:40:21,085 --> 00:40:26,382
♪♪

765
00:40:26,465 --> 00:40:29,593
Announcer #2: The ball goes up
very high on the service toss,

766
00:40:29,677 --> 00:40:31,846
and they might lose it.

767
00:40:31,929 --> 00:40:33,556
Malkemes:
And then they split sets

768
00:40:33,639 --> 00:40:35,266
all the way till the final set.

769
00:40:37,393 --> 00:40:39,854
Announcer: Let's see
if he can get another one.

770
00:40:44,233 --> 00:40:46,694
-That's Arthur's dad.
-12-11.

771
00:40:46,777 --> 00:40:48,112
Malkemes:
Somebody is gonna get tired,

772
00:40:48,195 --> 00:40:50,406
and we were hoping
it wasn't our guy.

773
00:40:50,489 --> 00:40:53,451
[ Crowd murmurs loudly ]

774
00:40:53,534 --> 00:40:55,161
Announcer #1:
Okker doesn't believe it.

775
00:40:57,163 --> 00:40:59,290
Announcer: Oh, boy, when you
call him Mr. Cool...

776
00:40:59,373 --> 00:41:01,458
Advantage, Mr. Ashe.

777
00:41:03,586 --> 00:41:06,297
Johnnie:
I was a duty NCO that weekend.

778
00:41:06,380 --> 00:41:10,718
Went into the rec room and
the guys were watching football.

779
00:41:12,219 --> 00:41:16,348
I asked them
if they minded me turning

780
00:41:16,432 --> 00:41:17,892
to find tennis.

781
00:41:17,975 --> 00:41:21,145
Announcer: Arthur Ashe up
two sets to one.

782
00:41:21,228 --> 00:41:23,898
Johnnie: Immediately,
the announcer said,

783
00:41:23,981 --> 00:41:25,858
"Arthur Ashe."

784
00:41:25,941 --> 00:41:27,735
Everybody looked at me.

785
00:41:27,818 --> 00:41:29,737
"Are you any kin to that guy?"

786
00:41:29,820 --> 00:41:32,156
And I said,
"Yeah, he's my brother."

787
00:41:32,239 --> 00:41:36,202
They said, "Okay,
I guess we can watch this."

788
00:41:37,494 --> 00:41:40,623
-Oh, boy.
-8-26.

789
00:41:44,335 --> 00:41:47,755
Announcer:
26 stabs with that serve.

790
00:41:47,838 --> 00:41:53,886
♪♪

791
00:41:53,969 --> 00:41:55,679
Interviewer #4:
What was your experience

792
00:41:55,763 --> 00:41:57,056
of watching
match point?

793
00:41:58,432 --> 00:42:00,059
[ Sighs ]

794
00:42:00,142 --> 00:42:01,393
[ Sniffles ]

795
00:42:01,477 --> 00:42:04,104
Announcer:
A triple championship point

796
00:42:04,188 --> 00:42:06,357
as Ashe goes for it.

797
00:42:10,194 --> 00:42:11,612
There it is!

798
00:42:11,695 --> 00:42:15,866
All I could do was...

799
00:42:15,950 --> 00:42:18,285
[ Cheers and applause ]

800
00:42:19,578 --> 00:42:23,624
Announcer: Arthur Ashe,
Richmond, Virginia,

801
00:42:23,707 --> 00:42:25,709
the champion.

802
00:42:25,793 --> 00:42:28,128
I had to leave
and go to my room

803
00:42:28,212 --> 00:42:31,173
because I couldn't let them
see me cry.

804
00:42:31,257 --> 00:42:36,637
♪♪

805
00:42:36,720 --> 00:42:44,645
♪♪

806
00:42:44,728 --> 00:42:46,397
Pasarell: When Arthur won,

807
00:42:46,480 --> 00:42:49,233
his father came out
and they embraced,

808
00:42:49,316 --> 00:42:52,152
and it was very emotional.

809
00:42:52,236 --> 00:42:54,363
It's the only time
Arthur's father

810
00:42:54,446 --> 00:42:58,158
walked on a tennis court
to congratulate Arthur.

811
00:42:58,242 --> 00:43:01,161
♪♪

812
00:43:01,245 --> 00:43:03,747
That day for me was
a vindication

813
00:43:03,831 --> 00:43:04,832
for a couple of people.

814
00:43:04,915 --> 00:43:06,083
My father.

815
00:43:06,166 --> 00:43:08,419
All the sacrifice,
the money he spent,

816
00:43:08,502 --> 00:43:09,920
which he really couldn't afford

817
00:43:10,004 --> 00:43:11,964
in order to give one
of his children

818
00:43:12,047 --> 00:43:14,717
the chance to do what I did.

819
00:43:14,800 --> 00:43:16,677
I also thought about my brother

820
00:43:16,760 --> 00:43:18,679
who spent two tours
in Vietnam.

821
00:43:18,762 --> 00:43:21,515
Wounded once.

822
00:43:21,598 --> 00:43:24,268
♪♪

823
00:43:24,351 --> 00:43:27,563
Johnnie: He called me that night
and said,

824
00:43:27,646 --> 00:43:30,232
"I'm a champion now.

825
00:43:30,316 --> 00:43:32,776
People will listen
to what I have to say."

826
00:43:34,320 --> 00:43:41,577
And being the first Black male
to win the U.S. Open,

827
00:43:41,660 --> 00:43:43,537
he was gonna be sought out.

828
00:43:43,620 --> 00:43:46,665
♪♪

829
00:43:46,749 --> 00:43:49,001
Until very recently,

830
00:43:49,084 --> 00:43:52,421
you have publicly not
had an attitude at all.

831
00:43:52,504 --> 00:43:53,756
I think
that's fair to say.

832
00:43:53,839 --> 00:43:55,716
And very recently,
you have begun,

833
00:43:55,799 --> 00:43:58,761
I think, quite thoughtfully
to enunciate.

834
00:43:58,844 --> 00:44:00,637
What was the chain
of your thinking?

835
00:44:00,721 --> 00:44:03,849
When I was playing, I was simply
awed by everything,

836
00:44:03,932 --> 00:44:06,018
having come from

837
00:44:06,101 --> 00:44:08,312
humble beginnings
in Richmond, Virginia.

838
00:44:08,395 --> 00:44:12,066
But in these times, it's really
a mandate that you do something.

839
00:44:12,149 --> 00:44:14,610
There are other athletes
and other Black leaders, period,

840
00:44:14,693 --> 00:44:18,155
who are using their positions
of power and influence

841
00:44:18,238 --> 00:44:19,573
to wield
some practical progress.

842
00:44:19,656 --> 00:44:22,368
So it's just simply saying
to myself,

843
00:44:22,451 --> 00:44:24,620
"Arthur, you must do something.

844
00:44:24,703 --> 00:44:28,582
You just cannot sit by
and let the world go by."

845
00:44:28,665 --> 00:44:30,042
Edwards:
He would call me up and say,

846
00:44:30,125 --> 00:44:31,168
"Harry, I was just thinking.

847
00:44:31,251 --> 00:44:32,419
I said, "Man, what do you want?

848
00:44:32,503 --> 00:44:33,921
What's -- what's --
what's going on?

849
00:44:34,004 --> 00:44:35,798
What -- What --
What do we got to talk about?"

850
00:44:35,881 --> 00:44:37,883
And after a while,

851
00:44:37,966 --> 00:44:41,512
I came to respect
his disposition.

852
00:44:42,679 --> 00:44:45,265
Arthur: You grow up Black
in the American South,

853
00:44:45,349 --> 00:44:46,642
you have no control.

854
00:44:46,725 --> 00:44:48,435
Your life is proscribed.

855
00:44:48,519 --> 00:44:51,605
And then in the '60s,
then you had Black ideologues

856
00:44:51,688 --> 00:44:52,940
trying to tell me what to do.

857
00:44:53,023 --> 00:44:55,734
All the time,
I am saying to myself,

858
00:44:55,818 --> 00:44:58,445
"Hey, when do I get to decide
what I want to do?"

859
00:44:58,529 --> 00:45:00,989
And so I've always been
fiercely protective

860
00:45:01,073 --> 00:45:04,785
with anyone
wanting to control my life.

861
00:45:04,868 --> 00:45:06,870
Edwards:
Arthur was the first person

862
00:45:06,954 --> 00:45:12,501
to really push me
to understand

863
00:45:12,584 --> 00:45:18,465
that Black orthodoxy
is not an acceptable substitute

864
00:45:18,549 --> 00:45:21,427
for institutionalized
White racism,

865
00:45:21,510 --> 00:45:26,890
that it has to be about people
having the freedom

866
00:45:26,974 --> 00:45:28,559
to make their own decisions

867
00:45:28,642 --> 00:45:31,478
in terms of how they approach
this struggle.

868
00:45:31,562 --> 00:45:33,272
Otherwise,
what are we fighting for?

869
00:45:36,275 --> 00:45:37,776
Arthur:
I get this all the time,

870
00:45:37,860 --> 00:45:39,653
being the only Black
in tennis right now,

871
00:45:39,736 --> 00:45:42,948
and they say, you know, "Tennis
has really been good to you.

872
00:45:43,031 --> 00:45:44,283
Mm-hmm.

873
00:45:44,366 --> 00:45:46,368
What most people fail to realize
is athletics

874
00:45:46,452 --> 00:45:48,537
is no different
than any other corporation

875
00:45:48,620 --> 00:45:51,707
where they may have some of
the same racist attitudes

876
00:45:51,790 --> 00:45:54,251
about hiring Blacks
at this or that level.

877
00:45:54,334 --> 00:45:57,254
They are products
of the American ideal.

878
00:45:57,337 --> 00:46:00,591
That ideal is sometimes twisted.
Most of the time, it is twisted.

879
00:46:00,674 --> 00:46:02,092
So...

880
00:46:02,176 --> 00:46:05,179
Edwards: Arthur would go in,
and he would make statements

881
00:46:05,262 --> 00:46:09,808
that when you brushed away
the gentility,

882
00:46:09,892 --> 00:46:13,145
the niceness,
the intelligence,

883
00:46:13,228 --> 00:46:15,063
the calmness,

884
00:46:15,147 --> 00:46:18,066
his statement would be
more militant than mine.

885
00:46:18,150 --> 00:46:19,526
I could say "Good morning,"

886
00:46:19,610 --> 00:46:21,945
and people would take it
like it was a death threat.

887
00:46:22,029 --> 00:46:25,491
In the last two years, we've had
more movement in athletics

888
00:46:25,574 --> 00:46:28,994
away from the status quo
than at any other time.

889
00:46:29,077 --> 00:46:32,039
This growing militancy
among athletes

890
00:46:32,122 --> 00:46:35,209
is not gonna stop.
It's gaining momentum.

891
00:46:35,292 --> 00:46:38,378
We're all quite proud of the
guys who are standing up today

892
00:46:38,462 --> 00:46:39,546
and being counted.

893
00:46:39,630 --> 00:46:42,257
And I wonder what
the feeling is here.

894
00:46:42,341 --> 00:46:44,718
How do you feel about
the South Africans?

895
00:46:44,801 --> 00:46:48,055
[ Men singing in distinctly ]

896
00:46:50,140 --> 00:46:51,850
Arthur:
The continuing apartheid,

897
00:46:51,934 --> 00:46:55,354
segregation in South Africa,

898
00:46:55,437 --> 00:46:59,358
really, truly anguished me.

899
00:46:59,441 --> 00:47:02,402
♪♪

900
00:47:02,486 --> 00:47:04,738
Carlos: Before most people even
knew about the plight

901
00:47:04,821 --> 00:47:08,158
of South Africa,
Arthur Ashe was on the case.

902
00:47:08,242 --> 00:47:10,327
I can remember
the line very well.

903
00:47:10,410 --> 00:47:15,415
Did you know that a man named
Nelson Mandela went to jail

904
00:47:15,499 --> 00:47:20,295
in his own home country
trying to get the vote?

905
00:47:20,379 --> 00:47:25,217
Arthur revered Nelson Mandela
and how he spoke up,

906
00:47:25,300 --> 00:47:29,513
knowing
that he would go to prison.

907
00:47:29,596 --> 00:47:32,808
Arthur: We absolutely need more
people like Nelson Mandela.

908
00:47:34,226 --> 00:47:36,770
Fill us in on your intention
to play in South Africa.

909
00:47:36,853 --> 00:47:40,190
My contention is you have
to start somewhere

910
00:47:40,274 --> 00:47:41,733
and it would at least
be a crack

911
00:47:41,817 --> 00:47:44,403
in the apartheid wall
down there if I did play.

912
00:47:44,486 --> 00:47:47,281
Arthur Ashe: When I formally
applied for a visa,

913
00:47:47,364 --> 00:47:49,700
I was personally turned down.

914
00:47:49,783 --> 00:47:52,911
Edwards: He was one of the
people that they despised

915
00:47:52,995 --> 00:47:55,122
most of all over there.

916
00:47:55,205 --> 00:47:56,957
They had no intention

917
00:47:57,040 --> 00:48:01,336
of bringing an outspoken
Black tennis player

918
00:48:01,420 --> 00:48:03,463
to South Africa.

919
00:48:03,547 --> 00:48:06,633
Arthur: I hate South Africa
with a vengeance.

920
00:48:06,717 --> 00:48:08,635
Edwards: Then for him to say

921
00:48:08,719 --> 00:48:12,014
he would like
to drop a bomb on Johannesburg,

922
00:48:12,097 --> 00:48:14,808
of course, the opposition
is gonna pick it up and say,

923
00:48:14,891 --> 00:48:17,352
"This is why
we're keeping him out."

924
00:48:17,436 --> 00:48:22,441
♪♪

925
00:48:22,524 --> 00:48:26,320
Last month, I finally got
a no on the visa.

926
00:48:26,403 --> 00:48:30,157
They said,
"No, you cannot come."

927
00:48:30,240 --> 00:48:33,243
My primary objective
was to play tennis

928
00:48:33,327 --> 00:48:35,579
at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.

929
00:48:35,662 --> 00:48:39,166
Ellis Park
is the South African counterpart

930
00:48:39,249 --> 00:48:41,376
to the U.S.'s Forest Hills.

931
00:48:41,460 --> 00:48:44,129
Blacks are not allowed
to play at Ellis Park.

932
00:48:44,212 --> 00:48:47,966
They are not allowed
to play with non-Blacks

933
00:48:48,050 --> 00:48:50,636
at any public park.

934
00:48:50,719 --> 00:48:54,389
The best avenue is
to call for a boycott

935
00:48:54,473 --> 00:48:57,184
of South African events.

936
00:48:57,267 --> 00:48:59,353
If South Africa
doesn't have any players,

937
00:48:59,436 --> 00:49:02,522
it can't have any tournaments.

938
00:49:02,606 --> 00:49:05,067
[ People chanting indistinctly ]

939
00:49:09,154 --> 00:49:10,656
Man #10:
South Africa, go home!

940
00:49:10,739 --> 00:49:13,200
Arthur:
I was a part of an effort

941
00:49:13,283 --> 00:49:15,202
forcing South Africa
to really see

942
00:49:15,285 --> 00:49:18,080
that their system of apartheid
was not gonna work,

943
00:49:18,163 --> 00:49:19,289
it would not be acceptable.

944
00:49:19,373 --> 00:49:21,708
Get the racists
off our courts.

945
00:49:21,792 --> 00:49:23,710
No apartheid in our sports.

946
00:49:23,794 --> 00:49:26,254
Get the racists
off our courts.

947
00:49:26,338 --> 00:49:29,549
Donald: I had a conversation
with the South African minister.

948
00:49:29,633 --> 00:49:32,219
And I just said, "Look, you've
turned him down three times.

949
00:49:32,302 --> 00:49:33,679
Would you reconsider?

950
00:49:33,762 --> 00:49:35,347
Arthur would really like
to come."

951
00:49:35,430 --> 00:49:38,141
To my complete shock, he said,
"We'd love to have Arthur

952
00:49:38,225 --> 00:49:40,060
come to South Africa,
on one condition.

953
00:49:40,143 --> 00:49:42,145
You can never talk
about politics."

954
00:49:42,229 --> 00:49:43,563
So I called Arthur.

955
00:49:43,647 --> 00:49:46,066
I said, "Do you want to come
on that basis?

956
00:49:46,149 --> 00:49:47,526
You're gonna get criticized.

957
00:49:47,609 --> 00:49:49,444
The Blacks are gonna say
you're an Uncle Tom.

958
00:49:49,528 --> 00:49:51,863
You're gonna
get blasted every way."

959
00:49:53,657 --> 00:49:55,409
Young:
Arthur wrote 10 people.

960
00:49:55,492 --> 00:50:00,455
All of the White people he wrote
said he shouldn't go.

961
00:50:00,539 --> 00:50:02,833
Both Bob Green,
the Black scholar,

962
00:50:02,916 --> 00:50:05,669
and I told him he ought to go.
[ Chuckles ]

963
00:50:05,752 --> 00:50:07,587
♪ What's the word? ♪

964
00:50:07,671 --> 00:50:09,798
♪ Tell me, brother,
have you heard ♪

965
00:50:09,881 --> 00:50:11,758
♪ From Johannesburg ♪

966
00:50:11,842 --> 00:50:13,969
So he said, "Why don't you all
come and go with me?"

967
00:50:14,052 --> 00:50:16,263
♪ Tell me what's the word ♪

968
00:50:16,346 --> 00:50:19,641
Young: We spent a solid week
together in South Africa.

969
00:50:19,725 --> 00:50:22,102
♪ From Johannesburg ♪

970
00:50:23,812 --> 00:50:26,481
Pasarell: He was criticized
left, right and center

971
00:50:26,565 --> 00:50:29,317
by the Black society
here in the United States

972
00:50:29,401 --> 00:50:33,029
and even by the Black society
in South Africa.

973
00:50:33,113 --> 00:50:35,115
Interviewer #5: What do you
think of playing

974
00:50:35,198 --> 00:50:36,450
to segregated
audiences?

975
00:50:36,533 --> 00:50:38,535
Well, if I find that they
are, I won't be playing.

976
00:50:38,618 --> 00:50:40,704
♪ We ought to come together ♪

977
00:50:40,787 --> 00:50:45,667
Edward: He insisted that
the stadium be desegregated.

978
00:50:45,751 --> 00:50:49,171
He had evolved from someone
who was analytical

979
00:50:49,254 --> 00:50:54,676
to someone who became more
and more about direct action.

980
00:50:57,179 --> 00:50:59,556
Interviewer #6: Did you get,
in South Africa,

981
00:50:59,639 --> 00:51:01,725
a feeling that you could
change things

982
00:51:01,808 --> 00:51:02,893
just by playing tennis?

983
00:51:02,976 --> 00:51:06,521
No, I am not presumptuous enough
to think

984
00:51:06,605 --> 00:51:09,149
I can change anything, um...

985
00:51:09,232 --> 00:51:11,860
per se.

986
00:51:13,820 --> 00:51:16,865
Johnnie: He wanted
Black South Africans

987
00:51:16,948 --> 00:51:19,993
to see a free Black man

988
00:51:20,076 --> 00:51:25,999
and the possibilities that
a free Black man could live.

989
00:51:26,082 --> 00:51:33,423
♪♪

990
00:51:33,507 --> 00:51:38,345
Young: He was letting the
ordinary kid in the street know

991
00:51:38,428 --> 00:51:41,223
that it was possible
for a Black man

992
00:51:41,306 --> 00:51:43,183
to make it to the top

993
00:51:43,266 --> 00:51:45,310
in a sport
where everything was White,

994
00:51:45,393 --> 00:51:48,021
including your tennis shoes
and your shorts.

995
00:51:48,104 --> 00:51:53,693
♪♪

996
00:51:53,777 --> 00:51:57,155
Arthur went out almost every day
talking to the kids in Soweto

997
00:51:57,239 --> 00:52:01,827
to the liberation movements.

998
00:52:01,910 --> 00:52:03,411
You know, he'd look
at his watch, he said,

999
00:52:03,495 --> 00:52:05,455
"Oh, my gosh, it's 2:00.

1000
00:52:05,539 --> 00:52:07,833
I think I'm supposed
to play at 3:30."

1001
00:52:07,916 --> 00:52:10,418
And we'd rush back
to the stadium.

1002
00:52:10,502 --> 00:52:13,296
He clearly was not
focusing on tennis.

1003
00:52:14,506 --> 00:52:16,633
But he made it to the finals
with Jimmy Connors.

1004
00:52:16,716 --> 00:52:18,885
[ Cheers and applause ]

1005
00:52:21,429 --> 00:52:25,809
♪♪

1006
00:52:25,892 --> 00:52:28,645
[ Announcer speaks indistinctly]

1007
00:52:31,648 --> 00:52:32,858
First game Ashe.

1008
00:52:32,941 --> 00:52:35,527
[ Cheers and applause ]

1009
00:52:35,610 --> 00:52:38,572
Man #11: But an ever-aggressive
Connors was waiting.

1010
00:52:38,655 --> 00:52:46,872
♪♪

1011
00:52:46,955 --> 00:52:55,046
♪♪

1012
00:52:55,130 --> 00:52:57,841
[ Announcer speaks indistinctly]

1013
00:52:57,924 --> 00:53:01,511
Jimmy Connors beat him,
and we gave him hell.

1014
00:53:01,595 --> 00:53:03,763
[ Laughing ]

1015
00:53:03,847 --> 00:53:06,850
The whole point of coming down
here was to show Black folk

1016
00:53:06,933 --> 00:53:10,729
that a Black man could win
in a White man's sport

1017
00:53:10,812 --> 00:53:14,649
and you lose to Jimmy Connors
of all people.

1018
00:53:18,194 --> 00:53:20,030
Wallace: Ashe,
the Black traditionalist

1019
00:53:20,113 --> 00:53:23,867
who upholds the ancient
White values of the game

1020
00:53:23,950 --> 00:53:26,036
and Connors, the White upstart,

1021
00:53:26,119 --> 00:53:28,622
the emotional,
sometimes crazy man

1022
00:53:28,705 --> 00:53:32,083
whose tennis
is almost a contact sport.

1023
00:53:32,167 --> 00:53:34,628
Connors: I'm in the ring
every time I go out there.

1024
00:53:34,711 --> 00:53:36,546
You know, once I hit
the first ball,

1025
00:53:36,630 --> 00:53:38,632
the bell rings
and it's a fight for me.

1026
00:53:38,715 --> 00:53:40,008
You know, I'm an animal.

1027
00:53:40,091 --> 00:53:41,635
I go after everything
and I fly off the ground

1028
00:53:41,718 --> 00:53:42,928
and I'm jumping
and everything

1029
00:53:43,011 --> 00:53:45,263
so that I can get
to that tennis ball.

1030
00:53:47,349 --> 00:53:48,558
Any time there is

1031
00:53:48,642 --> 00:53:50,268
the enormous amount
of money involved,

1032
00:53:50,352 --> 00:53:52,687
it's gonna bring out
everything in people.

1033
00:53:52,771 --> 00:53:55,065
So these times
have changed, you know,

1034
00:53:55,148 --> 00:53:57,984
from the way Arthur was
brought up in the game.

1035
00:53:58,068 --> 00:54:00,779
His attitude is a lot
different from mine.

1036
00:54:02,822 --> 00:54:06,284
Arthur: Connors really burst
on the scene in 1974,

1037
00:54:06,368 --> 00:54:10,413
when he won three
of the four Grand Slam events.

1038
00:54:10,497 --> 00:54:12,374
Man #12: Ruthless young man,

1039
00:54:12,457 --> 00:54:15,043
Connors reveling
in absolute power.

1040
00:54:15,126 --> 00:54:16,878
Arthur: I certainly loved
to watch him play.

1041
00:54:16,962 --> 00:54:19,923
Announcer: With annihilation,
the relentless Jimmy Connors.

1042
00:54:20,006 --> 00:54:22,842
Arthur: But I was never crazy
about his personality.

1043
00:54:22,926 --> 00:54:27,472
He was brash and brusque,
ill-mannered.

1044
00:54:27,555 --> 00:54:30,183
He had this arrogance
about him...

1045
00:54:30,266 --> 00:54:33,895
I do what I want when
I want and how I want.

1046
00:54:33,979 --> 00:54:37,649
...fueled by the dominance
of his mother.

1047
00:54:37,732 --> 00:54:40,235
Don't come up on the ball
so much, honey.

1048
00:54:40,318 --> 00:54:41,820
Out more.

1049
00:54:41,903 --> 00:54:43,822
McEnroe: Jimmy Connors is one
of the great effort players

1050
00:54:43,905 --> 00:54:45,532
that ever played tennis.

1051
00:54:45,615 --> 00:54:47,200
However, he did some things

1052
00:54:47,283 --> 00:54:49,869
that sort of made you
scratch your head,

1053
00:54:49,953 --> 00:54:51,496
particularly off the court,

1054
00:54:51,579 --> 00:54:54,582
and that rubbed
a lot of people the wrong way.

1055
00:54:54,666 --> 00:54:56,835
Arthur:
My disappointment early on

1056
00:54:56,918 --> 00:54:59,921
was he wouldn't join
our players union, the ATP.

1057
00:55:00,005 --> 00:55:02,132
He was dyed-in-the-wool,
blue-collar

1058
00:55:02,215 --> 00:55:03,591
from East St. Louis.

1059
00:55:03,675 --> 00:55:07,345
It just made no sense to me
that he wouldn't do that.

1060
00:55:07,429 --> 00:55:11,891
Pasarell: Jimmy was contrary
to joining the ATP.

1061
00:55:11,975 --> 00:55:13,560
Arthur's president of the ATP.

1062
00:55:13,643 --> 00:55:17,731
Jimmy didn't want to be part
of the U.S. team in Davis Cup.

1063
00:55:17,814 --> 00:55:20,817
That didn't sit well
with Arthur either.

1064
00:55:20,900 --> 00:55:23,737
Arthur: There simply has never
been an American player

1065
00:55:23,820 --> 00:55:26,865
who so consistently refused
to play Davis Cup.

1066
00:55:26,948 --> 00:55:29,242
I couldn't understand
how any American player

1067
00:55:29,325 --> 00:55:30,785
would not do that.

1068
00:55:30,869 --> 00:55:36,291
♪♪

1069
00:55:36,374 --> 00:55:39,627
At the beginning of
the '75 season, I thought,

1070
00:55:39,711 --> 00:55:41,463
"Look, I'm gonna be
32 years old.

1071
00:55:41,546 --> 00:55:45,967
This will probably be my last
really good year in the tour.

1072
00:55:46,051 --> 00:55:47,469
To do well, I'd have to get

1073
00:55:47,552 --> 00:55:50,430
in the best shape that I
possibly could at my age."

1074
00:55:50,513 --> 00:55:53,933
And so I worked more at physical
conditioning than anything else

1075
00:55:54,017 --> 00:55:58,772
and started off very well
in the WCT tour that year

1076
00:55:58,855 --> 00:56:03,526
and wound up winning
the WCT finals in Dallas.

1077
00:56:03,610 --> 00:56:06,404
Man #13: This week in Dallas
for Arthur, the WCT crown,

1078
00:56:06,488 --> 00:56:07,947
$50,000 in prize money,

1079
00:56:08,031 --> 00:56:10,450
the solid-gold
Haggar tennis ball,

1080
00:56:10,533 --> 00:56:12,118
a 1975 Cadillac,

1081
00:56:12,202 --> 00:56:14,954
and the World Championship
of Tennis diamond ring.

1082
00:56:15,038 --> 00:56:17,749
Arthur: Right after that,
Wimbledon was beginning.

1083
00:56:17,832 --> 00:56:22,087
♪♪

1084
00:56:22,170 --> 00:56:24,130
Evans: 1975 at Wimbledon

1085
00:56:24,214 --> 00:56:27,801
was a re-gathering
of the tennis family.

1086
00:56:27,884 --> 00:56:30,595
Every single great player
was competing.

1087
00:56:31,971 --> 00:56:33,515
Arthur had never won Wimbledon.

1088
00:56:33,598 --> 00:56:37,227
He wasn't gonna get
to many more Grand Slam finals.

1089
00:56:37,310 --> 00:56:39,395
Arthur:
Growing up playing the game,

1090
00:56:39,479 --> 00:56:42,649
every kid knows about Wimbledon
and he wants to win.

1091
00:56:42,732 --> 00:56:43,942
Hell, win.

1092
00:56:44,025 --> 00:56:47,320
Some people dream
of just playing there.

1093
00:56:47,403 --> 00:56:49,405
Announcer:
Oh, what great serving.

1094
00:56:49,489 --> 00:56:50,698
Great serving.

1095
00:56:50,782 --> 00:56:54,202
Arthur Ashe reaches his first
Wimbledon final.

1096
00:56:54,285 --> 00:56:56,746
Man #14: But Ashe's supporters
take cold comfort

1097
00:56:56,830 --> 00:56:58,331
from the other semifinal.

1098
00:56:58,414 --> 00:57:00,166
Pasarell:
Jimmy Connors would be next.

1099
00:57:00,250 --> 00:57:01,292
He had never beaten Jimmy,

1100
00:57:01,376 --> 00:57:03,628
lost to him every time.

1101
00:57:03,711 --> 00:57:05,296
They did not get along.

1102
00:57:05,380 --> 00:57:08,925
Man #14: Connors led 4-3 by
Roscoe Tanner in the first set,

1103
00:57:09,008 --> 00:57:11,469
then produces
a devastating form.

1104
00:57:11,553 --> 00:57:12,637
Remarkable, even for him.

1105
00:57:12,720 --> 00:57:14,347
Pasarell:
When he played somebody,

1106
00:57:14,430 --> 00:57:16,224
he almost had
to hate that player.

1107
00:57:16,307 --> 00:57:21,187
♪♪

1108
00:57:21,271 --> 00:57:24,524
Announcer: He's not lost a set
in these championships.

1109
00:57:24,607 --> 00:57:25,775
Pasarell:
And sometimes he carried it

1110
00:57:25,859 --> 00:57:28,736
even outside
of the tennis court.

1111
00:57:28,820 --> 00:57:32,240
In fact, Jimmy had sued Arthur.

1112
00:57:32,323 --> 00:57:34,909
Arthur:
Just before Wimbledon,

1113
00:57:34,993 --> 00:57:40,206
there was in progress a lawsuit
against me by Jimmy Connors

1114
00:57:40,290 --> 00:57:43,668
because I had said someplace
that Connors was

1115
00:57:43,751 --> 00:57:48,631
"seemingly unpatriotic"
for not playing Davis Cup.

1116
00:57:50,300 --> 00:57:53,178
Donald: There was a lot
of off-court bad feeling.

1117
00:57:53,261 --> 00:57:55,096
I mean, you know,
you're all in the locker room,

1118
00:57:55,180 --> 00:57:56,264
changing clothes

1119
00:57:56,347 --> 00:57:58,808
and locker rooms
aren't that big.

1120
00:57:58,892 --> 00:58:01,436
Evans: Connors was not
everybody's favorite,

1121
00:58:01,519 --> 00:58:05,398
but the guys in the locker room
felt no one could beat him.

1122
00:58:05,481 --> 00:58:08,067
Considering the way
Connors had been playing,

1123
00:58:08,151 --> 00:58:10,945
he was easily
the world's number one.

1124
00:58:11,029 --> 00:58:14,616
Donald: He had only lost four
matches the entire year,

1125
00:58:14,699 --> 00:58:16,534
and he was winning everything.

1126
00:58:18,786 --> 00:58:20,747
The time to get nervous and...

1127
00:58:20,830 --> 00:58:22,498
Donald: It's the night
before the finals.

1128
00:58:22,582 --> 00:58:26,085
If you knew Arthur, it's gonna
be hard to sleep that night.

1129
00:58:26,169 --> 00:58:27,712
And I said, "What do you want
to do tonight?"

1130
00:58:27,795 --> 00:58:29,589
And he said, "I want to go
to the Playboy Club."

1131
00:58:29,672 --> 00:58:31,925
I said, "You want to what?"

1132
00:58:32,008 --> 00:58:33,676
"You know, I want
to play a little Blackjack.

1133
00:58:33,760 --> 00:58:36,304
And I want to sit in the back
in a booth and have dinner,

1134
00:58:36,387 --> 00:58:38,056
and nobody will bother us."

1135
00:58:38,139 --> 00:58:41,309
He liked tactics.
He liked to have a game plan.

1136
00:58:41,392 --> 00:58:43,853
And we just plotted
and talked about

1137
00:58:43,937 --> 00:58:47,899
how to play Connors
on a grass court.

1138
00:58:47,982 --> 00:58:49,734
Arthur: A group of us sat down
to figure out

1139
00:58:49,817 --> 00:58:54,155
what my best chances would be
of beating Jimmy Connors.

1140
00:58:54,239 --> 00:58:56,199
And we came up with a game plan

1141
00:58:56,282 --> 00:59:00,578
that we were sure would give
Connors difficulty on grass.

1142
00:59:02,205 --> 00:59:04,457
Donald: The next morning,
I got an envelope

1143
00:59:04,540 --> 00:59:06,793
and I just wrote on it
the three or four things

1144
00:59:06,876 --> 00:59:09,629
that we had all talked about.

1145
00:59:09,712 --> 00:59:13,174
Man #15: And now the great
climax, the men's final --

1146
00:59:13,258 --> 00:59:16,094
Connors playing Ashe,

1147
00:59:16,177 --> 00:59:20,181
the man whom is currently suing
for over £2 million

1148
00:59:20,265 --> 00:59:23,351
for some remark.

1149
00:59:23,434 --> 00:59:25,436
Announcer: First service.

1150
00:59:25,520 --> 00:59:27,355
Dell:
On that little piece of paper,

1151
00:59:27,438 --> 00:59:29,107
it said, "Take the speed
off the ball

1152
00:59:29,190 --> 00:59:32,485
and hit to Connors'
forehand, softly."

1153
00:59:36,239 --> 00:59:40,076
Jimmy needed to feed
off his opponent's pace.

1154
00:59:40,159 --> 00:59:43,371
Announcer: Connors -- another
unforced error there.

1155
00:59:43,454 --> 00:59:45,540
Evans: The pace he generated

1156
00:59:45,623 --> 00:59:49,168
was what came off
his opponent's racket.

1157
00:59:51,546 --> 00:59:55,049
If he wasn't giving pace,
he couldn't hit the ball.

1158
00:59:55,133 --> 00:59:57,385
Announcer: Lovely stroke.
Lovely controlled stroke.

1159
00:59:57,468 --> 00:59:59,887
Purposeful to a degree.

1160
00:59:59,971 --> 01:00:01,556
Donald: Secondly, you want
to serve him wide,

1161
01:00:01,639 --> 01:00:02,849
and the deuce.

1162
01:00:02,932 --> 01:00:04,309
Pull him way out of court

1163
01:00:04,392 --> 01:00:06,686
'cause then he'd have
the whole court to volley.

1164
01:00:06,769 --> 01:00:11,858
♪♪

1165
01:00:11,941 --> 01:00:16,738
♪♪

1166
01:00:16,821 --> 01:00:21,492
And the third thing was use the
lob because Connors closes fast.

1167
01:00:23,286 --> 01:00:25,872
He hits that first volley,
and he goes right into the net

1168
01:00:25,955 --> 01:00:29,500
for the second shot,
so use the lob a lot.

1169
01:00:29,584 --> 01:00:32,378
♪♪

1170
01:00:32,462 --> 01:00:35,214
[ Cheers and applause ]

1171
01:00:35,298 --> 01:00:39,052
Announcer:
Connors' coach and Mrs. Connors.

1172
01:00:39,135 --> 01:00:43,431
Announcer #2: Ashe leads by two
games to love in the second set.

1173
01:00:43,514 --> 01:00:45,558
Announcer: So a tremendous hand
for the challenger.

1174
01:00:45,641 --> 01:00:46,893
Announcer #2: Quiet, please,
ladies and gentlemen.

1175
01:00:46,976 --> 01:00:48,269
Announcer #1: Arthur Ashe.

1176
01:00:48,353 --> 01:00:57,070
♪♪

1177
01:00:57,153 --> 01:00:58,488
Pasarell:
That wasn't Arthur's game,

1178
01:00:58,571 --> 01:01:00,365
to give him
a lot of soft stuff like that.

1179
01:01:00,448 --> 01:01:02,867
I mean,
Arthur was a hard hitter.

1180
01:01:02,950 --> 01:01:05,745
He had to change his own game
to be able to do that.

1181
01:01:05,828 --> 01:01:07,747
Announcer:
Set point for Connors.

1182
01:01:07,830 --> 01:01:09,707
Pasarell:
And then Jimmy came back.

1183
01:01:09,791 --> 01:01:14,462
♪♪

1184
01:01:14,545 --> 01:01:17,590
[ Cheers and applause ]

1185
01:01:17,673 --> 01:01:18,800
Announcer: Connors makes

1186
01:01:18,883 --> 01:01:20,760
a really thrashing
return of service.

1187
01:01:23,388 --> 01:01:25,848
Evans: Connors did
get his act together,

1188
01:01:25,932 --> 01:01:27,308
and he won the third set,

1189
01:01:27,392 --> 01:01:31,562
and that would have been
the moment that so many people

1190
01:01:31,646 --> 01:01:35,691
would have reverted
to what was natural to them.

1191
01:01:35,775 --> 01:01:41,447
♪♪

1192
01:01:41,531 --> 01:01:43,241
In a moment of panic,
they might have thought,

1193
01:01:43,324 --> 01:01:45,201
"Oh, I can't keep this up,
I can't keep this up.

1194
01:01:45,284 --> 01:01:47,912
I'm gonna go back to hitting
the ball as hard as I can."

1195
01:01:47,995 --> 01:01:49,288
15-All.

1196
01:01:49,372 --> 01:01:53,793
♪♪

1197
01:01:53,876 --> 01:01:58,297
♪♪

1198
01:01:58,381 --> 01:02:00,425
[ Cheers and applause ]

1199
01:02:08,349 --> 01:02:09,767
Donald: Late in the match,

1200
01:02:09,851 --> 01:02:12,061
Arthur is sitting there
looking at something.

1201
01:02:12,145 --> 01:02:14,063
I'm looking,
I'm trying to figure out,

1202
01:02:14,147 --> 01:02:16,149
"What in the hell
is he thinking about?"

1203
01:02:16,232 --> 01:02:17,984
And then I saw
that piece of paper.

1204
01:02:18,067 --> 01:02:21,195
I said, "My God, he's sitting
there reading that envelope."

1205
01:02:21,279 --> 01:02:28,161
♪♪

1206
01:02:28,244 --> 01:02:29,579
[ Cheers and applause ]

1207
01:02:29,662 --> 01:02:31,414
Pasarell: Arthur went back
for the fourth set

1208
01:02:31,497 --> 01:02:34,167
and continued to dink
and push...

1209
01:02:34,250 --> 01:02:36,002
Announcer: Advantage Ashe.

1210
01:02:36,085 --> 01:02:38,379
Pasarell:
...and give Jimmy no pace.

1211
01:02:41,382 --> 01:02:42,758
It was the most brilliant

1212
01:02:42,842 --> 01:02:47,346
and fascinating tactical
tennis match I've ever seen.

1213
01:02:47,430 --> 01:02:49,056
Announcer: Ashe serving
for the match.

1214
01:02:49,140 --> 01:02:54,312
♪♪

1215
01:02:54,395 --> 01:02:55,938
[ Cheers and applause ]

1216
01:02:56,022 --> 01:03:00,401
So Arthur Ashe stands with
two championship points, 40-15.

1217
01:03:03,613 --> 01:03:08,951
♪♪

1218
01:03:09,035 --> 01:03:10,244
[ Cheers and applause ]

1219
01:03:10,328 --> 01:03:12,205
Without doubt, one
of the greatest upsets

1220
01:03:12,288 --> 01:03:14,248
in the long history
of Wimbledon.

1221
01:03:14,332 --> 01:03:16,876
Arthur Ashe,
the first Black player

1222
01:03:16,959 --> 01:03:20,588
to win the men's
Wimbledon singles title.

1223
01:03:20,671 --> 01:03:23,883
McEnroe: Arthur beat Jimmy
strategically big-time.

1224
01:03:23,966 --> 01:03:28,095
So I think that starting
to get people thinking.

1225
01:03:28,179 --> 01:03:31,807
The way Black Americans reacted
when I won Wimbledon...

1226
01:03:31,891 --> 01:03:33,392
[ Laughs ]

1227
01:03:33,476 --> 01:03:37,396
...it was like Joe Lewis winning
the heavyweight championship.

1228
01:03:37,480 --> 01:03:39,357
That's the first time
that Black Americans

1229
01:03:39,440 --> 01:03:43,653
really became aware
of Wimbledon,

1230
01:03:43,736 --> 01:03:44,987
and now they follow it.

1231
01:03:45,071 --> 01:03:47,156
And now they're playing
tennis like crazy.

1232
01:03:47,240 --> 01:03:49,408
[ Cheers and applause ]

1233
01:03:51,369 --> 01:03:53,579
King: In '75,
we both won Wimbledon.

1234
01:03:53,663 --> 01:03:55,748
It's like, "Oh, my God,
this is perfect."

1235
01:03:55,831 --> 01:03:58,417
I remember dancing with him.

1236
01:03:58,501 --> 01:04:01,003
I said, "Arthur,
we both have afros.

1237
01:04:01,087 --> 01:04:03,422
But yours is real.
Mine's permed.

1238
01:04:03,506 --> 01:04:04,924
[ Cheers and applause ]

1239
01:04:05,007 --> 01:04:09,428
♪♪

1240
01:04:09,512 --> 01:04:11,013
Arthur:
So we had this conversation

1241
01:04:11,097 --> 01:04:13,432
at a soul-food restaurant
in Toronto.

1242
01:04:13,516 --> 01:04:15,142
Shore:
In Toronto of all places.

1243
01:04:15,226 --> 01:04:16,310
Underground in Toronto.

1244
01:04:16,394 --> 01:04:18,688
Yes.
And it went full circle.

1245
01:04:18,771 --> 01:04:23,109
First, it was Kathy
and this -- this girl

1246
01:04:23,192 --> 01:04:25,444
getting on
the guy and myself,

1247
01:04:25,528 --> 01:04:28,614
saying that all men
our male-chauvinist pigs.

1248
01:04:28,698 --> 01:04:31,617
King: When I was around Arthur
in the early days,

1249
01:04:31,701 --> 01:04:34,620
he was not gender-sensitive
at all.

1250
01:04:34,704 --> 01:04:38,457
Finally, the guy and myself
said, "You girls,

1251
01:04:38,541 --> 01:04:39,792
you want to have --
you want to be liberated,

1252
01:04:39,875 --> 01:04:41,127
you want equality,

1253
01:04:41,210 --> 01:04:43,170
but you want
only the privileges

1254
01:04:43,254 --> 01:04:45,006
and not
the responsibilities."

1255
01:04:45,089 --> 01:04:47,967
You could just tell he hadn't
been exposed to it,

1256
01:04:48,050 --> 01:04:49,427
hadn't thought about it.

1257
01:04:49,510 --> 01:04:52,513
You know, growing up as a male,

1258
01:04:52,597 --> 01:04:55,349
let's forget color,
they're supreme.

1259
01:04:55,433 --> 01:04:57,727
We're second-class citizens.

1260
01:04:57,810 --> 01:04:59,562
For instance,
when tennis went pro,

1261
01:04:59,645 --> 01:05:02,565
he didn't think that women
should even be included.

1262
01:05:02,648 --> 01:05:04,984
We're slow.

1263
01:05:05,067 --> 01:05:06,360
No one wants to watch us.

1264
01:05:06,444 --> 01:05:10,364
♪♪

1265
01:05:10,448 --> 01:05:13,492
But he really did change
over time,

1266
01:05:13,576 --> 01:05:16,370
being sensitive to gender
because of Jeanne.

1267
01:05:16,454 --> 01:05:18,956
Jeanne Ashe
changed his whole life.

1268
01:05:21,417 --> 01:05:24,754
Jeanne:
I first met Arthur in 1976.

1269
01:05:24,837 --> 01:05:28,299
And when I was shooting
at a United Negro College Fund

1270
01:05:28,382 --> 01:05:29,925
tennis tournament,

1271
01:05:30,009 --> 01:05:32,345
I mean, there were more women
standing around Arthur Ashe

1272
01:05:32,428 --> 01:05:36,349
than there were around
Walt "Clyde" Frazier.

1273
01:05:36,432 --> 01:05:39,435
Arthur called me
at my office at NBC

1274
01:05:39,518 --> 01:05:43,314
and invited me out to dinner.

1275
01:05:43,397 --> 01:05:48,361
I met him downstairs,
and he had one single red rose.

1276
01:05:48,444 --> 01:05:51,197
He told me it was
his mother's favorite flower.

1277
01:05:51,280 --> 01:05:54,617
Obviously, I was completely
charmed by that.

1278
01:05:56,952 --> 01:05:59,872
Arthur:
I was emotionally ready.

1279
01:06:00,873 --> 01:06:06,379
Jeanne was very bright and
independent, physically intense.

1280
01:06:06,462 --> 01:06:09,090
She was what I was looking for.

1281
01:06:11,842 --> 01:06:16,097
Jeanne: He had an aching bone
spur in his heel.

1282
01:06:16,180 --> 01:06:18,849
He decided, "Okay,
so I'll have my bone spur

1283
01:06:18,933 --> 01:06:22,019
operated on
on February 10th

1284
01:06:22,103 --> 01:06:24,939
and on February 20th,
we'll get married."

1285
01:06:25,022 --> 01:06:29,235
I married him on crutches
in a huge snowstorm

1286
01:06:29,318 --> 01:06:32,822
and a day
that I'll never forget.

1287
01:06:32,905 --> 01:06:34,156
Man #16: The ceremony,

1288
01:06:34,240 --> 01:06:36,409
with Ashe in a cast after
a recent heel operation,

1289
01:06:36,492 --> 01:06:38,452
was performed
by the American ambassador

1290
01:06:38,536 --> 01:06:41,122
to the United Nations,
Andrew Young.

1291
01:06:41,205 --> 01:06:44,333
Young: Marriage is essentially
a struggle to learn,

1292
01:06:44,417 --> 01:06:46,293
to work together
and to forgive each other

1293
01:06:46,377 --> 01:06:49,046
because nobody's perfect.

1294
01:06:49,130 --> 01:06:51,465
Interviewer #7: What's the best
advice you've gotten?

1295
01:06:51,549 --> 01:06:54,009
Advice we've gotten?

1296
01:06:54,093 --> 01:06:55,177
Not to do this again.

1297
01:06:55,261 --> 01:06:56,470
Jeanne:
I feel pretty good.

1298
01:06:56,554 --> 01:06:58,764
Ambassador Young
also told me that my job

1299
01:06:58,848 --> 01:07:02,435
is gonna be
a lot tougher than his.

1300
01:07:02,518 --> 01:07:05,354
Carole: I think he met his match
when he met Jeanne.

1301
01:07:05,438 --> 01:07:07,565
She wasn't going
to follow him around

1302
01:07:07,648 --> 01:07:09,608
like a dutiful little wife.

1303
01:07:09,692 --> 01:07:11,193
They were both
very strong-willed,

1304
01:07:11,277 --> 01:07:14,989
and she had her goals in life
and he had his goals.

1305
01:07:15,072 --> 01:07:18,242
They seemed to be able
to pull them both together.

1306
01:07:18,325 --> 01:07:19,535
I've seen these, yes.

1307
01:07:19,618 --> 01:07:21,412
Look pretty good,
but I like

1308
01:07:21,495 --> 01:07:23,956
the play of the blue
and the yellow and the brown.

1309
01:07:24,039 --> 01:07:26,125
Wallace: Is it annoying
to you in any way

1310
01:07:26,208 --> 01:07:28,878
to be, I suspect,
considered very often

1311
01:07:28,961 --> 01:07:31,630
as merely an appendage,

1312
01:07:31,714 --> 01:07:35,050
another part
of Arthur Ashe?

1313
01:07:35,134 --> 01:07:37,803
Um...it happens.

1314
01:07:37,887 --> 01:07:39,722
I think it happens
to all women

1315
01:07:39,805 --> 01:07:41,182
when you get married,

1316
01:07:41,265 --> 01:07:45,519
because that's the way society
has, um, has put us

1317
01:07:45,603 --> 01:07:48,147
as an appendage.

1318
01:07:48,230 --> 01:07:50,357
It's -- it's all up here.

1319
01:07:50,441 --> 01:07:53,152
I have my level
of what I do in my profession,

1320
01:07:53,235 --> 01:07:54,487
and he has his level.

1321
01:07:54,570 --> 01:07:56,071
And they are two completely
different things.

1322
01:07:56,155 --> 01:07:58,491
I know I can take pictures
the rest of my life.

1323
01:07:58,574 --> 01:08:00,034
I'll always do that.

1324
01:08:00,117 --> 01:08:03,078
He won't be able to play tennis
the rest of his life.

1325
01:08:03,162 --> 01:08:04,663
Arthur: At the age of 35,

1326
01:08:04,747 --> 01:08:07,374
I know what my strengths
are fairly much

1327
01:08:07,458 --> 01:08:09,502
and I know
what my weaknesses are.

1328
01:08:09,585 --> 01:08:11,378
But I think more
than anything else,

1329
01:08:11,462 --> 01:08:13,339
which I couldn't do
10 years ago,

1330
01:08:13,422 --> 01:08:16,550
is admit that there are
some things I can't do.

1331
01:08:16,634 --> 01:08:18,511
Whereas when I was 24 or 25,

1332
01:08:18,594 --> 01:08:21,806
there was nothing
I didn't think I could do.

1333
01:08:25,643 --> 01:08:28,145
Wallace: He fought back
and continues to fight,

1334
01:08:28,229 --> 01:08:29,855
putting himself through agonies

1335
01:08:29,939 --> 01:08:35,528
in order to not be overcome by
younger, stronger, hungrier men.

1336
01:08:35,611 --> 01:08:38,697
It is like some eastern ritual,
but it works.

1337
01:08:38,781 --> 01:08:41,659
A year ago,
he had fallen from the top 10

1338
01:08:41,742 --> 01:08:45,454
to a ranking of 257th
in the world.

1339
01:08:45,538 --> 01:08:48,374
Today, he's back
to number eight.

1340
01:08:48,457 --> 01:08:50,626
Man #17: Arthur Ashe wasn't
supposed to have a chance

1341
01:08:50,709 --> 01:08:52,920
in the finals of the Grand Prix
Masters tournament,

1342
01:08:53,003 --> 01:08:57,424
not against the teenage star
John McEnroe,

1343
01:08:57,508 --> 01:09:00,177
But serving a triple set point
in the first set,

1344
01:09:00,261 --> 01:09:04,306
the 19-year-old McEnroe double
faulted three straight times.

1345
01:09:05,933 --> 01:09:07,977
McEnroe: This event was, like,
a huge deal for me.

1346
01:09:08,060 --> 01:09:11,897
I was in college at the time,
and to play Arthur there

1347
01:09:11,981 --> 01:09:16,318
and actually save a couple of
match points was just so crazy.

1348
01:09:16,402 --> 01:09:17,486
It meant a lot to me.

1349
01:09:17,570 --> 01:09:19,947
I mean, Arthur was tough.

1350
01:09:20,030 --> 01:09:22,783
Man #17: McEnroe got
the $100,000 first prize.

1351
01:09:22,867 --> 01:09:26,245
Ashe got $65,000 for second,
and he got more --

1352
01:09:26,328 --> 01:09:29,540
the gratitude
of everyone who is over 30

1353
01:09:29,623 --> 01:09:30,916
and feels younger.

1354
01:09:31,000 --> 01:09:32,710
Arthur: I'd be willing
to stack myself up

1355
01:09:32,793 --> 01:09:35,921
against any 28-year-old
on the tour, anyone,

1356
01:09:36,005 --> 01:09:38,632
because I work harder
than just about anybody.

1357
01:09:38,716 --> 01:09:41,427
I'm in excellent shape,
I take care of myself,

1358
01:09:41,510 --> 01:09:43,721
and I'll be around for a while.

1359
01:09:43,804 --> 01:09:48,767
♪♪

1360
01:09:48,851 --> 01:09:50,436
Jeanne:
I think about denial a lot,

1361
01:09:50,519 --> 01:09:54,815
because I accuse Arthur
of being in constant denial.

1362
01:09:56,192 --> 01:09:59,445
But there's good denial
and there's bad denial.

1363
01:09:59,528 --> 01:10:01,030
The bad denial was, like,

1364
01:10:01,113 --> 01:10:05,451
when Arthur first had chest pain
in 1979,

1365
01:10:05,534 --> 01:10:06,952
and he never thought
for a minute

1366
01:10:07,036 --> 01:10:09,330
that he was having
a heart attack.

1367
01:10:11,832 --> 01:10:13,125
Arthur: Oh.

1368
01:10:13,208 --> 01:10:16,712
I've been in the right place
at the right time.

1369
01:10:16,795 --> 01:10:18,964
There just happened
to be a doctor

1370
01:10:19,048 --> 01:10:20,799
on the next court
where I was playing

1371
01:10:20,883 --> 01:10:23,969
and saw I was having
some difficulty and...

1372
01:10:24,053 --> 01:10:25,721
he just said, "Look, you need to
go to the hospital right now."

1373
01:10:25,804 --> 01:10:27,473
Interviewer #8: Mm-hmm.

1374
01:10:27,556 --> 01:10:30,935
He wouldn't even let me go back
to get my racket or my wallet.

1375
01:10:32,728 --> 01:10:36,273
Oh, this is a tape
from cardiac care unit,

1376
01:10:36,357 --> 01:10:38,067
New York Hospital.

1377
01:10:38,150 --> 01:10:40,903
Brought here Thursday night.

1378
01:10:44,239 --> 01:10:48,202
My father, having had
two heart attacks,

1379
01:10:48,285 --> 01:10:52,164
the fact that my mother died
when I was 6 years old

1380
01:10:52,247 --> 01:10:55,501
of cardiovascular disease
and high blood pressure,

1381
01:10:55,584 --> 01:10:57,169
but I didn't put
too much credence in it

1382
01:10:57,252 --> 01:10:59,296
because I just didn't think
that I, at 36,

1383
01:10:59,380 --> 01:11:01,674
could have a heart attack.

1384
01:11:01,757 --> 01:11:03,008
No question about it.

1385
01:11:03,092 --> 01:11:05,469
My heart attack
makes today more important

1386
01:11:05,552 --> 01:11:09,348
than tomorrow or the day after.

1387
01:11:11,934 --> 01:11:16,480
But, uh, the boyishness in me,

1388
01:11:16,563 --> 01:11:18,482
the boy in me,
the little boy in me

1389
01:11:18,565 --> 01:11:23,278
wonders if I will see my mother
again if I die.

1390
01:11:24,613 --> 01:11:28,659
That makes the specter
of dying more palatable.

1391
01:11:29,535 --> 01:11:33,038
Maybe I will, in some form,
see her again.

1392
01:11:33,122 --> 01:11:35,874
♪♪

1393
01:11:35,958 --> 01:11:37,126
Interviewer #9:
If -- Perhaps I should say

1394
01:11:37,209 --> 01:11:41,422
when you
meet your mother,

1395
01:11:41,505 --> 01:11:43,090
what would you ask,
what would you say?

1396
01:11:43,173 --> 01:11:46,927
♪♪

1397
01:11:47,011 --> 01:11:50,389
I don't think I would say
anything. I would, uh...

1398
01:11:50,472 --> 01:11:55,060
♪♪

1399
01:11:55,144 --> 01:11:57,688
I would probably just let her
hold me for a while,

1400
01:11:57,771 --> 01:12:00,566
for a long time.

1401
01:12:00,649 --> 01:12:04,028
That's -- Because I can't recall
that ever having happened.

1402
01:12:04,111 --> 01:12:10,868
♪♪

1403
01:12:10,951 --> 01:12:13,120
Interviewer #10: There was
a picture of Arthur Ashe

1404
01:12:13,203 --> 01:12:15,247
propped up
in a hospital bed

1405
01:12:15,331 --> 01:12:18,042
with a huge,
white bandage

1406
01:12:18,125 --> 01:12:20,044
running right down
his middle.

1407
01:12:20,127 --> 01:12:21,587
Will you tell us
what happened?

1408
01:12:21,670 --> 01:12:24,715
That obviously ended
my tennis career

1409
01:12:24,798 --> 01:12:26,008
because I retired

1410
01:12:26,091 --> 01:12:29,094
about two and a half months
right after that

1411
01:12:29,178 --> 01:12:32,848
and got on
with the rest of my life.

1412
01:12:35,350 --> 01:12:37,978
Arthur: I made my official
announcement of retirement

1413
01:12:38,062 --> 01:12:39,730
in March '80.

1414
01:12:39,813 --> 01:12:42,024
The incoming president
of the USTA

1415
01:12:42,107 --> 01:12:45,110
asked to see me at the U.S. Open

1416
01:12:45,194 --> 01:12:48,697
and told me that I was
the one person they wanted

1417
01:12:48,781 --> 01:12:51,784
to coach
the American Davis Cup team.

1418
01:12:51,867 --> 01:12:56,580
I knew that our team
would be built around McEnroe.

1419
01:12:56,663 --> 01:12:58,540
Reporter #9: In his first
news conference here,

1420
01:12:58,624 --> 01:13:00,375
McEnroe was joined
by other members

1421
01:13:00,459 --> 01:13:02,086
of the UC Davis Cup team.

1422
01:13:02,169 --> 01:13:04,838
His attire provoked
this introduction

1423
01:13:04,922 --> 01:13:06,882
from team captain, Arthur Ashe.

1424
01:13:06,965 --> 01:13:09,718
Arthur:
Wearing the Foster Grants...

1425
01:13:09,802 --> 01:13:12,054
[ Laughter ]

1426
01:13:12,137 --> 01:13:14,139
Ray-Bans...

1427
01:13:14,223 --> 01:13:19,353
Bruce Springsteen's sidekick
John Patrick McEnroe Jr.

1428
01:13:19,436 --> 01:13:20,979
Young: I remember wondering

1429
01:13:21,063 --> 01:13:26,151
how Arthur and the volatile
young generation of tennis

1430
01:13:26,235 --> 01:13:27,653
would get along?

1431
01:13:27,736 --> 01:13:29,988
What did I say, umpire?
Tell me.

1432
01:13:30,072 --> 01:13:32,116
Please tell me.
Please tell me!

1433
01:13:32,199 --> 01:13:35,994
Because, see, Stan Smith,
Rod Laver and Arthur,

1434
01:13:36,078 --> 01:13:37,955
they were perfect gentlemen.

1435
01:13:38,038 --> 01:13:43,836
And then these young,
shouting hoodlums, acting,

1436
01:13:43,919 --> 01:13:46,839
wild kids come along.

1437
01:13:46,922 --> 01:13:49,675
I think it was
quite a challenge.

1438
01:13:49,758 --> 01:13:52,386
Arthur:
I like to stick to protocol.

1439
01:13:52,469 --> 01:13:55,055
I like to stick to the rules.

1440
01:13:55,139 --> 01:13:58,016
There were a lot
of little incidents with John.

1441
01:13:58,100 --> 01:14:01,019
If a match was supposed
to start at 1:00,

1442
01:14:01,103 --> 01:14:04,439
John would always wait
till three minutes past 1:00.

1443
01:14:04,523 --> 01:14:07,192
Always.
Things like that.

1444
01:14:07,276 --> 01:14:08,652
McEnroe: I remember a match

1445
01:14:08,735 --> 01:14:10,821
where Arthur didn't say a word
to me at all.

1446
01:14:10,904 --> 01:14:13,407
He's looking at these stats
and I'm like,

1447
01:14:13,490 --> 01:14:15,033
"This is a bunch of baloney."

1448
01:14:15,117 --> 01:14:18,704
But I would say the only time
there was real friction,

1449
01:14:18,787 --> 01:14:21,415
I believe, was the final match
against Argentina.

1450
01:14:23,208 --> 01:14:25,002
Arthur: Basically, I guess

1451
01:14:25,085 --> 01:14:27,087
that had been
building up a little bit.

1452
01:14:27,171 --> 01:14:28,463
Gumbel: John McEnroe,

1453
01:14:28,547 --> 01:14:31,425
besides playing
his usual brilliant tennis,

1454
01:14:31,508 --> 01:14:34,553
got into his usual antics
on the court.

1455
01:14:34,636 --> 01:14:36,763
You shouldn't be in the chair.
Alright?

1456
01:14:36,847 --> 01:14:38,348
You're a jerk!

1457
01:14:38,432 --> 01:14:40,225
You were very strong
in your point

1458
01:14:40,309 --> 01:14:43,729
that the U.S. had never
defaulted a match.

1459
01:14:43,812 --> 01:14:46,315
You were not about to let
John McEnroe do the same

1460
01:14:46,398 --> 01:14:48,025
because of his behavior.

1461
01:14:48,108 --> 01:14:49,776
How do you prevent this,
Arthur?

1462
01:14:49,860 --> 01:14:52,696
And what do you tell
a McEnroe?

1463
01:14:52,779 --> 01:14:55,407
Arthur:
John has behaved so poorly.

1464
01:14:55,490 --> 01:14:58,994
I called a Davis Cup committee
chairperson, and I said,

1465
01:14:59,077 --> 01:15:03,832
"Look, I thought what John
did yesterday was ridiculous.

1466
01:15:03,916 --> 01:15:05,334
It makes us look bad.

1467
01:15:05,417 --> 01:15:07,961
And I want your support
because I'm gonna call John

1468
01:15:08,045 --> 01:15:10,005
and tell him
if he misbehaves today,

1469
01:15:10,088 --> 01:15:12,090
we're gonna
forfeit the match."

1470
01:15:12,174 --> 01:15:16,261
I really thought our national
reputation was at stake,

1471
01:15:16,345 --> 01:15:19,306
and I was secretly hoping
that he would do something

1472
01:15:19,389 --> 01:15:22,476
because I was going
to lower the hammer.

1473
01:15:23,393 --> 01:15:25,687
McEnroe: The times where
I would go off the rails

1474
01:15:25,771 --> 01:15:27,898
didn't go over
too well for Arthur.

1475
01:15:27,981 --> 01:15:30,275
He'd sort of be chasing me
around.

1476
01:15:30,359 --> 01:15:31,443
"Just play!

1477
01:15:31,527 --> 01:15:33,028
You can go act like a jerk
if you want

1478
01:15:33,111 --> 01:15:34,404
when you're out there
by yourself.

1479
01:15:34,488 --> 01:15:36,990
But when you're playing
for your country,

1480
01:15:37,074 --> 01:15:39,201
you've got to act
a different way."

1481
01:15:41,870 --> 01:15:43,956
Gumbel:
The UC Davis Cup tennis team,

1482
01:15:44,039 --> 01:15:46,792
for the 27th time
in the history of the Davis Cup,

1483
01:15:46,875 --> 01:15:50,921
captured
that prestigious tennis trophy.

1484
01:15:51,004 --> 01:15:54,049
John McEnroe,
the world's best tennis player,

1485
01:15:54,132 --> 01:15:56,677
if not certainly
its most tempestuous one,

1486
01:15:56,760 --> 01:15:58,095
wrapped it up with a singles win

1487
01:15:58,178 --> 01:16:01,306
and the U.S.
Davis Cup champions once again.

1488
01:16:03,308 --> 01:16:05,352
At times,
his behavior is atrocious.

1489
01:16:05,435 --> 01:16:09,064
No question about it,
and he deserves to be fined

1490
01:16:09,147 --> 01:16:11,650
and penalized
if he breaks a rule.

1491
01:16:11,733 --> 01:16:14,987
John happens to be right
about 70% of the time.

1492
01:16:15,070 --> 01:16:18,532
It's just the way
he plies his grievance.

1493
01:16:18,615 --> 01:16:21,368
McEnroe: He sort of took me
under his wing

1494
01:16:21,451 --> 01:16:22,995
because I was this hothead.

1495
01:16:23,078 --> 01:16:26,164
And obviously Arthur
was the total opposite.

1496
01:16:26,248 --> 01:16:28,166
Arthur really
backed me up there.

1497
01:16:28,250 --> 01:16:29,710
He said, like,
"Give this kid a chance.

1498
01:16:29,793 --> 01:16:32,337
He's got a great talent.
He's gonna be fine."

1499
01:16:32,421 --> 01:16:36,258
And that was a huge turning
point in my career, actually.

1500
01:16:36,341 --> 01:16:38,927
As I grew up
and started to understand

1501
01:16:39,011 --> 01:16:41,430
more of what's actually
happening in the real world,

1502
01:16:41,513 --> 01:16:44,975
I started to understand
why he was frustrated

1503
01:16:45,058 --> 01:16:47,185
because I think
our personalities

1504
01:16:47,269 --> 01:16:49,813
weren't as different
as they appeared.

1505
01:16:49,896 --> 01:16:53,025
McEnroe had
the emotional freedom

1506
01:16:53,108 --> 01:16:54,526
to be a bad boy.

1507
01:16:54,609 --> 01:16:57,237
McEnroe:
You can't be serious, man.

1508
01:16:57,321 --> 01:16:58,822
You cannot be serious!

1509
01:16:58,905 --> 01:17:00,449
That ball
was on the line.

1510
01:17:00,532 --> 01:17:03,118
I never had that
emotional freedom.

1511
01:17:03,201 --> 01:17:06,872
If I had been like that,
I am convinced the tennis world

1512
01:17:06,955 --> 01:17:08,457
would have drugged me out of it.

1513
01:17:08,540 --> 01:17:10,625
My race wouldn't allow me
to be like that.

1514
01:17:10,709 --> 01:17:12,044
...how many you can miss!

1515
01:17:12,127 --> 01:17:13,962
He's walking over.

1516
01:17:14,046 --> 01:17:15,547
Everyone knows it's in
in this whole stadium.

1517
01:17:15,630 --> 01:17:19,968
And so when I see John going off
half-cocked,

1518
01:17:20,052 --> 01:17:22,888
I'm very irritated at him
and I'm envious

1519
01:17:22,971 --> 01:17:24,556
because I would like
to do the same thing,

1520
01:17:24,639 --> 01:17:26,808
but I don't feel
I have that luxury.

1521
01:17:26,892 --> 01:17:30,520
Evans: Arthur had been taught
never to behave like that,

1522
01:17:30,604 --> 01:17:34,399
never to lose control,
never to lose his temper.

1523
01:17:34,483 --> 01:17:39,237
But deep, deep down,
he wanted to on many occasions.

1524
01:17:39,321 --> 01:17:43,408
♪♪

1525
01:17:43,492 --> 01:17:47,120
Cavett: There must
have been times

1526
01:17:47,204 --> 01:17:50,248
when your rage
has exploded.

1527
01:17:50,332 --> 01:17:52,417
Overt prejudice,
as it's called.

1528
01:17:52,501 --> 01:17:54,586
What did it take to push you
over the line?

1529
01:17:54,670 --> 01:17:57,214
What kind of remark
or what kind of...?

1530
01:17:57,297 --> 01:17:59,966
Funny enough, I never really
exploded at prejudice.

1531
01:18:00,050 --> 01:18:01,426
No?
No, no.

1532
01:18:01,510 --> 01:18:04,137
You know, I internalize things,

1533
01:18:04,221 --> 01:18:09,184
so it's not my nature to get mad
at something like that.

1534
01:18:09,267 --> 01:18:10,769
Interviewer #11:
Reading last year

1535
01:18:10,852 --> 01:18:12,270
in "The New York Times,"

1536
01:18:12,354 --> 01:18:14,189
an article you wrote
for the magazine section,

1537
01:18:14,272 --> 01:18:16,775
I sensed there was a lot
of repressed anger, anxiety.

1538
01:18:16,858 --> 01:18:18,402
Take a look at this quote.

1539
01:18:18,485 --> 01:18:20,362
Said, "My 39-
to 45-year-old

1540
01:18:20,445 --> 01:18:21,697
Black professional
buddies

1541
01:18:21,780 --> 01:18:24,032
have paid a very heavy
emotional toll.

1542
01:18:24,116 --> 01:18:26,451
Divorce is the norm
rather than the exception.

1543
01:18:26,535 --> 01:18:28,328
Nearly everyone
is hypertense.

1544
01:18:28,412 --> 01:18:30,205
The stress
is barely bearable,

1545
01:18:30,288 --> 01:18:34,501
but it's hidden behind
ingenious subterfuges."

1546
01:18:34,584 --> 01:18:36,086
Interviewer #12:
Some of my

1547
01:18:36,169 --> 01:18:37,754
more speculative
colleagues

1548
01:18:37,838 --> 01:18:40,507
tie bottled-up emotions

1549
01:18:40,590 --> 01:18:43,635
with
cardiovascular disease.

1550
01:18:43,719 --> 01:18:45,762
I firmly believe
that they're correct.

1551
01:18:45,846 --> 01:18:47,180
Yes.

1552
01:18:47,264 --> 01:18:48,306
To survive...

1553
01:18:48,390 --> 01:18:51,601
You have
to internalize things. Yes.

1554
01:18:51,685 --> 01:19:00,819
♪♪

1555
01:19:00,902 --> 01:19:03,822
Jeanne:
Arthur took me for a drive

1556
01:19:03,905 --> 01:19:08,493
along Monument Avenue
in Richmond

1557
01:19:08,577 --> 01:19:12,914
and told me the stories of him
not being able to walk down

1558
01:19:12,998 --> 01:19:15,834
that street as a kid.

1559
01:19:15,917 --> 01:19:17,419
You know, I'm a northerner.

1560
01:19:17,502 --> 01:19:21,339
These were fascinating
stories to me, but...

1561
01:19:21,423 --> 01:19:25,010
his next stop
was Woodland Cemetery,

1562
01:19:25,093 --> 01:19:26,678
where his mother was buried.

1563
01:19:26,761 --> 01:19:32,976
♪♪

1564
01:19:33,059 --> 01:19:40,692
I think he became free
of that loss

1565
01:19:40,775 --> 01:19:43,236
when our daughter came along.

1566
01:19:44,696 --> 01:19:49,159
He was able to bond with her
the way that he had wished

1567
01:19:49,242 --> 01:19:52,329
to have bonded
with his own mother.

1568
01:19:52,412 --> 01:19:55,165
And I saw a real transformation
in him.

1569
01:19:56,791 --> 01:19:58,126
Arthur:
Now that I have a daughter,

1570
01:19:58,210 --> 01:20:00,712
which changes things,

1571
01:20:00,795 --> 01:20:03,673
no matter how disciplined
work life might be,

1572
01:20:03,757 --> 01:20:05,425
I think when it comes
to a father and a daughter,

1573
01:20:05,509 --> 01:20:08,553
some of that stuff
might go right out the window.

1574
01:20:08,637 --> 01:20:11,556
♪♪

1575
01:20:11,640 --> 01:20:14,893
She was very protective
of her dad.

1576
01:20:14,976 --> 01:20:20,732
She understood
throughout her life

1577
01:20:20,815 --> 01:20:24,903
that Daddy sometimes was ill.

1578
01:20:26,613 --> 01:20:29,908
Arthur: First time
I was in the hospital,

1579
01:20:29,991 --> 01:20:31,952
my daughter was quite afraid.

1580
01:20:32,035 --> 01:20:34,287
She grabbed my left
little finger

1581
01:20:34,371 --> 01:20:35,455
and she squeezed tight,

1582
01:20:35,539 --> 01:20:37,582
but she wouldn't
come any closer.

1583
01:20:37,666 --> 01:20:40,210
And I figured that
if I could make her part

1584
01:20:40,293 --> 01:20:44,172
of my medical regimen,
she would adjust to it.

1585
01:20:44,256 --> 01:20:46,675
I let her feed
my medicines to me.

1586
01:20:46,758 --> 01:20:49,594
She'll put my medicines
in my mouth

1587
01:20:49,678 --> 01:20:52,264
because I want her
to be a part of this.

1588
01:20:52,347 --> 01:20:54,599
I don't want her
to be afraid of it.

1589
01:20:54,683 --> 01:20:58,728
♪♪

1590
01:20:58,812 --> 01:21:01,815
Jeanne:
Labor Day weekend, 1988,

1591
01:21:01,898 --> 01:21:04,568
Arthur had brain surgery.

1592
01:21:04,651 --> 01:21:08,780
The doctor sat down with us
in Arthur's hospital room

1593
01:21:08,863 --> 01:21:15,328
and told us that he tested
for toxoplasmosis,

1594
01:21:15,412 --> 01:21:18,999
a marker for AIDS,

1595
01:21:19,082 --> 01:21:23,712
that he was, um...

1596
01:21:23,795 --> 01:21:27,257
not just HIV positive,
that he had AIDS.

1597
01:21:29,134 --> 01:21:31,469
Arthur:
I had a blood transfusion

1598
01:21:31,553 --> 01:21:34,306
after my second heart
bypass operation.

1599
01:21:34,389 --> 01:21:37,976
That's exactly what happened.
Contaminated blood.

1600
01:21:39,894 --> 01:21:44,482
We just set ourselves forward
to -- one step at a time --

1601
01:21:44,566 --> 01:21:48,612
to figure out how we were
going to thrive

1602
01:21:48,695 --> 01:21:52,115
as a family.

1603
01:21:52,198 --> 01:21:53,825
Arthur: I really wanted life

1604
01:21:53,908 --> 01:21:56,620
to just go on
as normally as possible.

1605
01:21:58,997 --> 01:22:01,958
I had always planned
to go public at some stage,

1606
01:22:02,042 --> 01:22:05,211
but there was still
a stigma attached to someone

1607
01:22:05,295 --> 01:22:08,548
who was found out
to be HIV positive or had AIDS.

1608
01:22:08,632 --> 01:22:10,842
And certainly,
if judged by the way

1609
01:22:10,925 --> 01:22:14,846
some previous AIDS victims
or patients were treated,

1610
01:22:14,929 --> 01:22:16,348
I didn't want that.

1611
01:22:16,431 --> 01:22:20,518
♪♪

1612
01:22:20,602 --> 01:22:22,145
King:
Arthur had to make decisions,

1613
01:22:22,228 --> 01:22:24,814
whether he's gonna be out
front about things or not.

1614
01:22:24,898 --> 01:22:29,527
But he wasn't given the privacy
to do this on his own terms.

1615
01:22:30,362 --> 01:22:32,864
With AIDS, he was outed.

1616
01:22:32,947 --> 01:22:34,449
Arthur:
A very good friend of mine,

1617
01:22:34,532 --> 01:22:35,784
who's a writer
for "USA Today,"

1618
01:22:35,867 --> 01:22:38,495
said he wanted to see me
about something.

1619
01:22:38,578 --> 01:22:43,375
I see this -- this -- this look
of angst on his face,

1620
01:22:43,458 --> 01:22:46,294
and then he almost stops
the conversation dead

1621
01:22:46,378 --> 01:22:48,880
in the middle and says --

1622
01:22:48,963 --> 01:22:53,218
Take a deep breath and said,
"My editor heard a rumor

1623
01:22:53,301 --> 01:22:55,845
the other day
that you have AIDS,

1624
01:22:55,929 --> 01:22:59,933
and I need to check it out."

1625
01:23:00,016 --> 01:23:04,479
And I knew right then that,
as I say, the game was up.

1626
01:23:05,980 --> 01:23:08,233
Rather:
The news today came as a shock.

1627
01:23:08,316 --> 01:23:11,736
Tennis Hall of Famer Arthur
Ashe revealed that he has AIDS.

1628
01:23:11,820 --> 01:23:13,988
It was something Arthur Ashe
wanted to keep private,

1629
01:23:14,072 --> 01:23:16,866
but he says he was finally
forced to go public.

1630
01:23:16,950 --> 01:23:18,410
[ Camera shutter clicking ]

1631
01:23:18,493 --> 01:23:23,623
Some of you heard that I had
tested positive for HIV,

1632
01:23:23,707 --> 01:23:26,084
the virus that causes AIDS.

1633
01:23:26,167 --> 01:23:29,546
That is indeed the case.

1634
01:23:29,629 --> 01:23:30,839
[ Clears throat ]

1635
01:23:36,469 --> 01:23:38,763
Camera...

1636
01:23:38,847 --> 01:23:40,890
already knows.

1637
01:23:45,270 --> 01:23:47,689
Just read that paragraph for me.

1638
01:23:47,772 --> 01:23:50,692
Jeanne: Camera already knows
that perfect strangers

1639
01:23:50,775 --> 01:23:54,154
come up to Daddy
on the street and say hi.

1640
01:23:54,237 --> 01:23:56,114
Even though we've begun
preparing Camera

1641
01:23:56,197 --> 01:23:59,701
for this news,
beginning tonight,

1642
01:23:59,784 --> 01:24:01,077
Arthur and I
must teach her

1643
01:24:01,161 --> 01:24:03,163
how to react
to new, different,

1644
01:24:03,246 --> 01:24:05,457
and sometimes
cruel comments

1645
01:24:05,540 --> 01:24:08,960
that have very little to do
with her reality.

1646
01:24:09,043 --> 01:24:10,628
Jeanne:
She was 5 at the time,

1647
01:24:10,712 --> 01:24:15,216
but as he went off
to the press conference,

1648
01:24:15,300 --> 01:24:17,969
she opened her hand

1649
01:24:18,052 --> 01:24:21,431
and there were three
Hershey's kisses,

1650
01:24:21,514 --> 01:24:23,808
and she gave it to him.

1651
01:24:23,892 --> 01:24:28,730
I am not sick,
and I can function very well

1652
01:24:28,813 --> 01:24:30,523
in all that I have been
involved in

1653
01:24:30,607 --> 01:24:32,776
for the past several years.

1654
01:24:33,818 --> 01:24:38,448
As for my family,
my wife and daughter

1655
01:24:38,531 --> 01:24:43,161
are in excellent health
and both are HIV negative.

1656
01:24:43,244 --> 01:24:45,330
[ Camera shutter clicking ]

1657
01:24:45,413 --> 01:24:47,582
Jeanne: When we came back
from the press conference,

1658
01:24:47,665 --> 01:24:52,003
we were exhausted
and Camera tucked us in.

1659
01:24:53,296 --> 01:24:59,010
For him, it wasn't a matter of
how he was going to be treated.

1660
01:24:59,094 --> 01:25:04,182
AIDS became
another fight for Arthur,

1661
01:25:04,265 --> 01:25:06,184
and he picked it up

1662
01:25:06,267 --> 01:25:10,855
like he did every other cause
that he ever took up.

1663
01:25:12,565 --> 01:25:15,735
Pasarell: Very difficult time
in Arthur's life.

1664
01:25:15,819 --> 01:25:17,695
There was a wonderful moment.

1665
01:25:17,779 --> 01:25:20,490
Mandela gets out of prison

1666
01:25:20,573 --> 01:25:24,536
and then becomes president
of South Africa,

1667
01:25:24,619 --> 01:25:27,372
visits the United States
for the first time ever.

1668
01:25:27,455 --> 01:25:31,835
♪♪

1669
01:25:31,918 --> 01:25:34,879
Jeanne: Of course,
there were hordes of people.

1670
01:25:34,963 --> 01:25:41,678
As Nelson Mandela
was making his way through,

1671
01:25:41,761 --> 01:25:43,596
he saw Arthur.

1672
01:25:43,680 --> 01:25:46,891
You could see
his face just lit up,

1673
01:25:46,975 --> 01:25:50,103
and he stopped
what he was doing.

1674
01:25:50,186 --> 01:25:51,646
And he walked over to Arthur

1675
01:25:51,729 --> 01:25:54,357
with the biggest smile
on his face.

1676
01:25:54,440 --> 01:25:56,693
And he opened up his arms
and he said,

1677
01:25:56,776 --> 01:25:59,487
"Arthur, Arthur, my brother,"

1678
01:25:59,571 --> 01:26:02,615
and he threw his arms
around him.

1679
01:26:04,784 --> 01:26:09,914
Arthur: I have found Mr. Mandela
to be very warm, engaging.

1680
01:26:09,998 --> 01:26:12,542
I was certainly struck
by his lack of bitterness

1681
01:26:12,625 --> 01:26:14,752
after 27 years in prison,

1682
01:26:14,836 --> 01:26:18,464
and I have considered it one of
the great privileges of my life

1683
01:26:18,548 --> 01:26:20,049
to know him personally.

1684
01:26:20,133 --> 01:26:25,096
Mr. Mandela would talk about
commitment and perseverance.

1685
01:26:25,179 --> 01:26:27,390
I took that to heart.

1686
01:26:27,473 --> 01:26:30,935
It's not unusual for people
to think that time is short,

1687
01:26:31,019 --> 01:26:34,230
to feel like they can
do almost anything.

1688
01:26:34,314 --> 01:26:37,150
And so I have taken
full full advantage of that.

1689
01:26:37,233 --> 01:26:41,946
I have felt creativity like
you just wouldn't believe.

1690
01:26:42,030 --> 01:26:44,532
♪♪

1691
01:26:44,616 --> 01:26:48,870
Arthur knew that there was work
still to be done.

1692
01:26:48,953 --> 01:26:54,792
Of course there was AIDS,
but he had such a profound role

1693
01:26:54,876 --> 01:26:57,503
in so many areas of life --

1694
01:26:57,587 --> 01:27:03,301
education, race,
empowering young people.

1695
01:27:03,384 --> 01:27:04,802
Arthur:
Far too many

1696
01:27:04,886 --> 01:27:07,555
of our young Black kids
harbor this dream

1697
01:27:07,639 --> 01:27:09,974
that they can be a Dr. J
or an O.J. Simpson

1698
01:27:10,058 --> 01:27:12,977
or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
or Reggie Jackson,

1699
01:27:13,061 --> 01:27:15,438
and they wind up
with neither the education

1700
01:27:15,521 --> 01:27:17,774
nor that pro contract.

1701
01:27:17,857 --> 01:27:21,819
We need more Black lawyers.
We need more Black doctors.

1702
01:27:21,903 --> 01:27:25,782
We are just begging
for Black engineers.

1703
01:27:25,865 --> 01:27:27,825
Carlos: He never forgot
about his people.

1704
01:27:27,909 --> 01:27:29,327
He never forgot about his race.

1705
01:27:29,410 --> 01:27:30,578
And when I say his race,

1706
01:27:30,662 --> 01:27:34,082
I'm talking
about the human race.

1707
01:27:34,165 --> 01:27:36,918
He challenged society
to do better.

1708
01:27:37,001 --> 01:27:39,337
Reporter #10: Arthur Ashe is
among 95 people

1709
01:27:39,420 --> 01:27:41,547
who were arrested
during a demonstration

1710
01:27:41,631 --> 01:27:43,508
outside
the White House Wednesday.

1711
01:27:43,591 --> 01:27:45,677
They were among 650 people

1712
01:27:45,760 --> 01:27:49,097
protesting U.S. policy
toward Haitian refugees.

1713
01:27:49,180 --> 01:27:51,975
Reporter #11: And he's been
an eloquent spokesperson

1714
01:27:52,058 --> 01:27:53,309
for AIDS patients.

1715
01:27:53,393 --> 01:27:55,269
Gumbel: Arthur was an author,
an activist,

1716
01:27:55,353 --> 01:27:56,980
a lecturer, a humanitarian,

1717
01:27:57,063 --> 01:27:58,773
a coach, a commentator,
a husband,

1718
01:27:58,856 --> 01:28:01,526
a father, and a friend,
a man whose entire life

1719
01:28:01,609 --> 01:28:05,655
was a study in commitment
and compassion.

1720
01:28:05,738 --> 01:28:09,409
Arthur: What I don't want is
to be thought of

1721
01:28:09,492 --> 01:28:11,035
when all is said and done

1722
01:28:11,119 --> 01:28:15,331
or remembered
as a great tennis player.

1723
01:28:15,415 --> 01:28:18,501
I mean, that's no contribution
to make to society.

1724
01:28:18,584 --> 01:28:27,135
♪♪

1725
01:28:27,218 --> 01:28:32,015
To this day, we have not found
another person

1726
01:28:32,098 --> 01:28:36,519
who could speak to both sides
of the barricades,

1727
01:28:36,602 --> 01:28:37,979
and that bridge

1728
01:28:38,062 --> 01:28:41,399
became so critically
and crucially important.

1729
01:28:43,484 --> 01:28:47,405
Johnnie: His contributions
became a pattern,

1730
01:28:47,488 --> 01:28:49,574
a guide of what other

1731
01:28:49,657 --> 01:28:52,076
Black professional athletes
could accomplish.

1732
01:28:52,160 --> 01:28:55,830
I will, this summer, be
the first Muslim woman

1733
01:28:55,913 --> 01:28:59,917
to represent Team USA
while wearing the hijab.

1734
01:29:00,001 --> 01:29:06,090
Arthur understood that sports
was a dramatic stage.

1735
01:29:06,174 --> 01:29:07,967
James: I never shied away
from being who I am.

1736
01:29:08,051 --> 01:29:09,927
I speak about things
that hit home for me

1737
01:29:10,011 --> 01:29:12,680
but also affect my community
and affect Black people.

1738
01:29:12,764 --> 01:29:14,265
If you listen to Black music,

1739
01:29:14,348 --> 01:29:19,145
if you like Black culture,
and you have Black friends,

1740
01:29:19,228 --> 01:29:21,272
then this is your fight, too.

1741
01:29:21,355 --> 01:29:23,191
Reporter #12:
Coco Gauf, Naomi Osaka,

1742
01:29:23,274 --> 01:29:26,778
two young players who have
found their voice.

1743
01:29:26,861 --> 01:29:28,488
Reporter #13:
Miss Osaka has not been shy

1744
01:29:28,571 --> 01:29:29,864
about her calls for justice.

1745
01:29:29,947 --> 01:29:31,449
Jeanne:
I think Arthur would have been

1746
01:29:31,532 --> 01:29:36,329
really proud of what
athletes are doing today.

1747
01:29:36,412 --> 01:29:37,955
We're fighting
for the bigger picture.

1748
01:29:38,039 --> 01:29:39,957
We might not get it today,
but we want the future

1749
01:29:40,041 --> 01:29:44,170
to be better for maybe
my daughter or her daughter.

1750
01:29:46,589 --> 01:29:51,260
Pres. Obama: The two athletes
that were most influential

1751
01:29:51,344 --> 01:29:54,764
in how I thought about
what it meant to be a man.

1752
01:29:54,847 --> 01:30:00,269
One was Muhammad Ali
and the other was Arthur Ashe.

1753
01:30:00,353 --> 01:30:04,482
Arthur Ashe chose to speak.
What did you do?

1754
01:30:15,785 --> 01:30:19,330
"The Life and Battles
of Jack Johnson."

1755
01:30:19,413 --> 01:30:24,168
"Boxing Made Easy: The Complete
Manual of Self-defense."

1756
01:30:24,252 --> 01:30:27,004
What else do we have here?

1757
01:30:27,088 --> 01:30:28,965
"Man and Super-fighter."

1758
01:30:31,050 --> 01:30:33,803
His treasures were not
his trophies,

1759
01:30:33,886 --> 01:30:36,180
his treasures were his books.

1760
01:30:36,264 --> 01:30:38,891
And every time I pick up
one of those books

1761
01:30:38,975 --> 01:30:43,396
or read something that he wrote,
I hear something very different.

1762
01:30:43,479 --> 01:30:47,066
I've never seen
this book before.

1763
01:30:47,150 --> 01:30:48,860
He inscribed it.

1764
01:30:48,943 --> 01:30:52,029
"We both want to disturb
the comfortable

1765
01:30:52,113 --> 01:30:54,991
and comfort the disturbed."

1766
01:30:56,951 --> 01:31:01,080
I just think about
all that that he did

1767
01:31:01,164 --> 01:31:03,749
in that short amount of time

1768
01:31:03,833 --> 01:31:08,462
and with such purpose
and determination.

1769
01:31:08,546 --> 01:31:12,550
There's something about choosing
a life of kindness

1770
01:31:12,633 --> 01:31:14,051
that has a lot of purpose in it,

1771
01:31:14,135 --> 01:31:18,181
and those kinds of people
are treasures.

1772
01:31:18,264 --> 01:31:20,224
And when you lose them,

1773
01:31:20,308 --> 01:31:23,853
you realize
what a real treasure is.

1774
01:31:23,936 --> 01:31:31,861
♪♪

1775
01:31:31,944 --> 01:31:39,869
♪♪

1776
01:31:39,952 --> 01:31:48,044
♪♪

1777
01:31:48,127 --> 01:31:56,260
♪♪

1778
01:31:56,344 --> 01:32:04,644
♪♪

1779
01:32:04,727 --> 01:32:12,944
♪♪

1780
01:32:13,027 --> 01:32:20,993
♪♪

1781
01:32:21,077 --> 01:32:29,126
♪♪

1782
01:32:29,210 --> 01:32:37,426
♪♪

1783
01:32:37,510 --> 01:32:45,309
♪♪

1784
01:32:45,393 --> 01:32:53,818
♪♪

1785
01:32:53,901 --> 01:33:02,326
♪♪

1786
01:33:02,410 --> 01:33:10,668
♪♪

1787
01:33:10,751 --> 01:33:20,011
♪♪

1788
01:33:20,094 --> 01:33:29,312
♪♪

1789
01:33:29,395 --> 01:33:38,654
♪♪

1790
01:33:38,738 --> 01:33:47,955
♪♪

1791
01:33:48,039 --> 01:33:57,214
♪♪

1792
01:33:57,298 --> 01:34:06,557
♪♪

1793
01:34:06,640 --> 01:34:15,858
♪♪

1794
01:34:15,941 --> 01:34:25,201
♪♪