Arthur Ashe, American tennis player, humantarian, activist and the first African American male to win singles titles at the U.S. Open , Australian Open and Wimbledon1. In addition, he was the first African American ranked #1in the world in the sport and co-founder of the Association for Tennis Professionals (ATP)2. Retiring from tennis in 1980 due to heart disease, Ashe became chairman for the American Heart Association and only non-medical member of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Advisory Council2. After contracting HIV through a blood transfusion in 1988 and forced to go public with the information in 1992, he dedicated the remainder of his life to raise awareness and founded the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS in 1993, the year of his death4. Ashes accolades include posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton in 1993 and ESPN’s ESPY Awards presents the Arthur Ashe Courage Award to a person in sports that exhibits courage in the face of adversity5.
To learn more about Arthur Ashe, visit https://www.cmgww.com/sports/ashe/ and https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arthur-Ashe .
1. https://www.cmgww.com/sports/ashe/
2. https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/arthur-ashe/
3. https://www.biography.com/people/arthur-ashe-9190544
4. http://www.arthurashe.org/life-story.html
5. https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/arthur-ashe/