Statue of African-American tennis legend Arthur Ashe is vandalized with the words 'White Lives Matter' in Virginia
- Monument was sprayed with the words 'white lives matter' and initials 'WLM'
- Those initials were then later painted over with 'BLM'
- Arthur Ashe monument was dedicated in 1996 to commemorate tennis player
A statue of Arthur Ashe, the African-American winner of three tennis grand slams, has been vandalised with the words 'White Lives Matter'.
The base of the monument in Richmond, Virginia, was tagged with white spray paint and the words 'white lives matter' as well as the initials 'WLM.'
Those initials were then later painted over with 'BLM.'
The base of the monument in Richmond, Virginia, was tagged with white spray paint and the words 'white lives matter' as well as the initials 'WLM.' Those initials were then later painted over with 'BLM', left. Statue pictured before the vandalism, right
Ashe was the first black player selected to the United States Davis Cup team and the first black man ever to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open
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Richmond Police said they were alerted to the vandalism about 10.15am on Wednesday and said red paint on the statue was already being cleaned off by community members.
Police said they have information on possible suspects and are asking the community to call their Crime Stoppers line if they have information on who is responsible for the vandalism.
Ashe is believed to have contracted HIV from a blood transfusion in the early 1980s
The Arthur Ashe monument was dedicated in 1996 to commemorate the Richmond native and counterbalance the string of statues on Memorial Avenue dedicated to Confederate leaders.
Ashe was the first black player selected to the United States Davis Cup team and the first black man ever to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open.
In November 1973, with the South African government seeking to end their Olympic Ban, Ashe was granted a visa to enter the country for the first time to play in the South African Open.
Ashe was an active civil rights supporter who visited South Africa to observe political change in the country as it approached racial integration, as part of a delegation of 31 prominent African-Americans.
He was arrested on January 11, 1985, for protesting outside the South African Embassy in Washington during an anti-apartheid rally.
He was arrested again on September 9, 1992, outside the White House for protesting on the recent crackdown on Haitian refugees.
Ashe is believed to have contracted HIV from a blood transfusion in the early 1980s. He founded the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS and the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health before his death from AIDS-related pneumonia on February 6, 1993, aged 49.
He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton on June 20, 1993.
The vandalism of the Ashe statue comes as multiple Confederate statues have been toppled, vandalised and slated for removal in the city during protests prompted by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
