“White Lives Matter” Painted On Legendary Arthur Ashe Statue

The USA is currently at one of the most polarized phases in its history. Sadly, the controversies erupting from the ongoing turmoil have engulfed the sports world as well. The latest victim is African-American tennis legend Arthur Ashe.

The Richmond native was one of the greatest tennis players to don the gear. His achievements include three Grand Slam titles. This saw him become the first, and only, African-American man to win the Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open.

That’s why, his home town of Richmond, Virginia has a statue dedicated to him. However, an unnamed individual took it upon himself to defame the iconic statue.

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What has been done to the Arthur Ashe statue?

The vandal defamed the Arthur Ashe statue by spray-painting the words “White Lives Matter” with white spray on its pedestal. Many view this act as revenge for the confederate statues toppled across the city as well as the country. According to a report in the New York Times, two ladies came across a man spray-painting ‘WLM’ on the base of the statue. He reportedly said to the passers-by, “You guys tagged my statue so I am tagging your statue.”

However, protestors painted those words over with red spray, saying “Black Lives Matter”. The police are currently investigating the matter and already have a list of suspects. Richmond police also revealed that they were alerted to the incident around 10:15 am on Wednesday.

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They are doing their best to punish the likely offenders. Notably, his statue was constructed in the year 1996 to commemorate his memory. The player was indeed a leading light for his community as well as his country through his inspiring tennis performances.

However, it’s sad to see him used as a prop for political reasons. There’s little to no contestation on his claims to greatness. Let’s hope that better sense prevails and we don’t see such incidents take place in the future.