James Blake is one of the brightest figures in tennis. The former world no.4 is currently the director of the Miami Open and he is still very active in the sport.
Unfortunately, James was a victim of an incredible episode in New York, perpetrated by the local police back in 2015. James was standing in front of a renowned hotel in Manhattan when out of the blue, a policeman jumped at him grabbing the arm and throwing him to the sidewalk face down. The handcuffs followed as James was mistakenly identified as a suspect.
“I thought someone was running at me that was a fan, someone that was going to say, ‘Hey I saw you play so and so, I was at this match, my kid plays tennis. I’m smiling with my hands down,” James commented.
Blake was deeply saddened after George Floyd murder noticing that not really much changed
“I went to bed very sad and very deflated, seeing this over and over again. I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t stop my mind from racing, thinking about the events that took place there, the events that took place with me in 2015. It saddens me to see that kind of policing is still going on, that kind of brutality, particularly how often it is aimed at the black and brown community,” he commented.
James also added that he still needs to find the right moment to discuss with his daughters aged 6 and 7 about racism and police brutality in the US. That will be a tough talk.
