WEBVTT 00:02.266 --> 00:05.666 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: Finally tonight, a former professional athlete takes on color divisions in sport. 00:07.666 --> 00:09.766 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Jeffrey Brown has our look from New York as part of our Race Matters series. 00:09.766 --> 00:14.766 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JEFFREY BROWN: A beautiful late summer day on the grounds of the U.S. Open at Flushing 00:16.766 --> 00:19.800 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Meadows, New York, tennis' biggest stage in this country, the kind of day that can stir 00:20.400 --> 00:22.433 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% memories. 00:22.433 --> 00:23.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JAMES BLAKE, Former Professional Tennis Player: This place is so special to me because I was 00:23.233 --> 00:25.766 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% a fan here first. 00:25.766 --> 00:28.933 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% JEFFREY BROWN: James Blake was born in Yonkers to an African-American father and white British 00:28.933 --> 00:31.000 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% mother. 00:31.000 --> 00:34.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% He started playing tennis at 5, alongside his brother Thomas, who also became a professional 00:35.433 --> 00:37.466 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% player. 00:37.466 --> 00:39.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JAMES BLAKE: I grew up an hour from here, was born less than 30 minutes from here. 00:39.433 --> 00:40.766 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% I was getting autographs of the qualifiers. 00:40.766 --> 00:42.000 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% JEFFREY BROWN: You did as a kid? 00:42.000 --> 00:43.000 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% JAMES BLAKE: Yes. 00:43.000 --> 00:44.666 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% I snuck in. 00:44.666 --> 00:45.900 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% JEFFREY BROWN: They haven't come after you to get the payment yet? 00:45.900 --> 00:47.466 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% JAMES BLAKE: They haven't come after me. 00:47.466 --> 00:49.500 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% I think I still owe them about $20 or $30 from back tickets. 00:49.500 --> 00:54.133 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JEFFREY BROWN: Blake more than repaid the sport, becoming a top American star, known 00:55.033 --> 00:57.066 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% for his speed and his power. 00:57.066 --> 01:01.633 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% He climbed to the world number four ranking in 2006, and retired in 2013 after a 14-year 01:03.866 --> 01:05.900 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% career. 01:05.900 --> 01:09.600 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Two years later, awaiting a ride from his Manhattan hotel to be a commentator at the 01:09.600 --> 01:14.300 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% U.S. Open, Blake was thrown to the ground, handcuffed and arrested by a plainclothes 01:14.300 --> 01:16.266 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% New York City police officer. 01:16.266 --> 01:20.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% It was caught on a surveillance camera, a case of mistaken identity, for which the New 01:20.933 --> 01:23.533 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% York police commissioner publicly apologized. 01:23.533 --> 01:26.366 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% WILLIAM BRATTON, New York City Police Commissioner: My apologies for the incident which he found 01:26.366 --> 01:28.433 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% himself involved in. 01:28.433 --> 01:32.100 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JEFFREY BROWN: But one that drew national headlines and charges of excessive force and 01:32.100 --> 01:33.333 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% racial profiling. 01:33.333 --> 01:34.766 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% JAMES BLAKE: They have got you cuffed. 01:34.766 --> 01:36.300 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% You don't know what's going on. 01:36.300 --> 01:38.433 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% I know I had done nothing wrong. 01:38.433 --> 01:43.433 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% But while that's going on, you just feel so weak and ineffective, because they are totally 01:44.333 --> 01:45.466 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% in control of the situation. 01:45.466 --> 01:46.700 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% And they know that. 01:46.700 --> 01:49.100 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And some of them handle that situation well. 01:49.100 --> 01:50.700 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% Some don't. 01:50.700 --> 01:52.700 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% And the officer that handled this case wasn't handling it well. 01:52.700 --> 01:56.133 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JEFFREY BROWN: I assume that you had never experienced anything like that? 01:56.133 --> 01:57.200 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% JAMES BLAKE: Not to that extent. 01:57.200 --> 01:59.366 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% JEFFREY BROWN: Yes. 01:59.366 --> 02:01.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JAMES BLAKE: I mean, I think almost every person of color at some point in their life 02:01.466 --> 02:05.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% has been profiled, whether it be walking into a store or driving your car and you're pulled 02:07.666 --> 02:09.733 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% over for no reason or anything to that extent. 02:09.733 --> 02:14.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% So, I have had instances like that, but never physical -- physical violence like this. 02:14.466 --> 02:19.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JEFFREY BROWN: The incident caused Blake to rethink his own role as a citizen-athlete. 02:19.433 --> 02:24.400 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% He began to speak out about cases of police misconduct, and now has a new book about the 02:24.400 --> 02:29.400 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% efforts work of other athletes, "Ways of Grace: Stories of Activism, Adversity, and How Sports 02:30.700 --> 02:32.633 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% Can Bring Us Together." 02:32.633 --> 02:34.666 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JAMES BLAKE: I want to see some positive headlines about athletes. 02:34.666 --> 02:38.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And that's what I try to in this book and show that there are athletes that have a social 02:38.500 --> 02:42.366 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% conscience, that aren't just there for the three hours that you watch them on TV. 02:42.366 --> 02:44.400 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% They have lives. 02:44.400 --> 02:46.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% They have things that are important and that they are passionate about. 02:46.433 --> 02:50.633 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% I think so many people focus on LeBron James, was he selfish to go to Miami, was he selfish 02:51.133 --> 02:51.966 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% here? 02:51.966 --> 02:54.133 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% Well, you know what? 02:54.133 --> 02:57.300 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% The guy donated $40 million to education in Akron, in his community, realizing that education 02:57.300 --> 02:59.633 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% is one of the biggest barriers for income disparity. 02:59.633 --> 03:04.633 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JEFFREY BROWN: Blake writes of many athletes, including from his own sport, lesser-knowns 03:07.066 --> 03:09.866 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% such as Amir Hadad and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, an Israeli Jew and Pakistani Muslim, who played 03:11.700 --> 03:16.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% doubles together at Wimbledon in 2002 and beyond, in the face of opposition. 03:18.500 --> 03:22.566 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% And more famous names, Arthur Ashe, who spoke out about apartheid and championed civil rights, 03:24.466 --> 03:27.833 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% as well as support for those with HIV/AIDS, which he himself battled. 03:27.833 --> 03:32.833 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And Billie Jean King, who has accomplished so much for gender equality and social justice 03:33.566 --> 03:36.166 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% in tennis and beyond. 03:36.166 --> 03:39.500 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% And he writes with sympathy for the most controversial figure today, former San Francisco 49er quarterback 03:41.400 --> 03:46.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Colin Kaepernick, who publicly took a knee during the national anthem before games last 03:47.400 --> 03:49.500 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% year to protest police brutality. 03:49.500 --> 03:53.400 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% He's is now out of football, and Blake and others believe it's because of his public 03:53.400 --> 03:56.000 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% stance. 03:56.000 --> 03:58.033 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% JAMES BLAKE: People are criticizing him, saying, oh, he makes $15 million, he should just shut 03:58.033 --> 04:00.600 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% up and play. 04:00.600 --> 04:02.200 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% And I just always have hated that narrative, because it doesn't matter the amount of money 04:02.200 --> 04:04.333 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% that's being paid. 04:04.333 --> 04:06.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% You still shouldn't be able to control someone, because then it's just a matter of saying, 04:06.733 --> 04:11.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% at what stage are you selling your whole soul, you're selling all your beliefs for a certain 04:12.800 --> 04:14.333 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% amount of money? 04:14.333 --> 04:16.466 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% And I think Colin Kaepernick is showing that he's not for sale. 04:16.466 --> 04:21.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JEFFREY BROWN: But do you understand fans who would say, look, I love and support you, 04:23.466 --> 04:26.566 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Colin Kaepernick, or athlete XYZ, for what you do on the field, but that's what you're 04:27.566 --> 04:28.566 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% supposed to do, right? 04:28.566 --> 04:29.566 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% JAMES BLAKE: Right. 04:29.566 --> 04:30.566 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% JEFFREY BROWN: That's your job. 04:30.566 --> 04:31.566 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% JAMES BLAKE: Yes. 04:31.566 --> 04:33.000 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% Yes, and I... 04:33.000 --> 04:33.800 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% JEFFREY BROWN: Don't push your politics on me. 04:33.800 --> 04:35.800 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% JAMES BLAKE: Yes. 04:35.800 --> 04:37.066 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Well, fans are absolutely within their right to not go to the games, to say, I'm not going 04:37.066 --> 04:39.100 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to buy your jersey, to do anything like that. 04:39.100 --> 04:43.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% But I don't think it's really fair to put that on him, because of what he's fighting 04:44.666 --> 04:46.333 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% for, as a lot of veterans have said, that's what we fought for. 04:46.333 --> 04:48.400 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% He has his freedom. 04:48.400 --> 04:50.900 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And people say, oh, well, you know what, we want sports just to get away from politics. 04:50.900 --> 04:52.933 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% We want it just to be an escape. 04:52.933 --> 04:56.200 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Well, it can be an escape for when it's on the field and he's still doing his job on 04:56.200 --> 04:57.733 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% the field. 04:57.733 --> 05:00.533 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% But when he's not forced to be on the field, it's up to him. 05:00.533 --> 05:02.566 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% It's his right. 05:02.566 --> 05:05.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And it's his freedom of speech that he can say and do what he wants, especially since 05:05.500 --> 05:07.966 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% it's peaceful. 05:07.966 --> 05:10.400 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% JEFFREY BROWN: Do you think there's more responsibility with the higher -- the higher profile you 05:10.400 --> 05:12.433 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% are? 05:12.433 --> 05:16.133 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Because you think about very famous stars of the past, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Bill 05:16.133 --> 05:18.133 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% Russell, people who spoke out. 05:18.133 --> 05:22.266 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% You think of Michael Jordan, who some people criticized him for not, right... 05:22.266 --> 05:24.266 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% JAMES BLAKE: Yes. 05:24.266 --> 05:25.766 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JEFFREY BROWN: ... being more connected with the brands and the advertising. 05:25.766 --> 05:27.766 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% JAMES BLAKE: Well, again, I think it's individual. 05:27.766 --> 05:31.066 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And I think it's -- we talk about in the book, with the fact that there was a little bit 05:31.066 --> 05:34.433 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% of an era where a lot of people weren't speaking out. 05:34.433 --> 05:38.066 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Michael Jordan was in that era, where it was, you're going to protect your brand at all 05:38.066 --> 05:40.100 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% costs. 05:40.100 --> 05:42.666 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% So, I think a lot of people in that time were going to be silent, and they were just going 05:42.666 --> 05:44.166 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% to try to sell shoes. 05:44.166 --> 05:46.233 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% I don't fault them for that, but I feel like it's shifted. 05:46.233 --> 05:49.300 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% Now, especially with social media, people are going to speak out. 05:49.300 --> 05:52.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And I think, previous to that generation, there was the generation of Muhammad Ali. 05:52.933 --> 05:54.766 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% There was the civil rights movement. 05:54.766 --> 05:57.433 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% There were people that stood for a serious cause. 05:57.433 --> 06:01.066 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And it seemed like people thought, athletes maybe thought, hey, we have got it good now. 06:01.066 --> 06:03.133 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% Let's not mess this up. 06:03.133 --> 06:07.066 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JEFFREY BROWN: As for himself, Blake settled a lawsuit against the New York Police Department 06:08.500 --> 06:10.500 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% this summer, and got the city to fund a legal fellowship. 06:10.500 --> 06:14.300 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JAMES BLAKE: That was a good outcome, exploring cases of police misconduct. 06:14.300 --> 06:17.666 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% You have a fellow on staff for the next six years, two years at a time. 06:17.666 --> 06:21.266 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% So it will be three different ones straight out of law school to fight these kind of cases, 06:21.266 --> 06:24.666 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% because, last year, over 50 percent of them weren't seen to conclusion. 06:24.666 --> 06:29.666 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% So, now there's someone on staff to help them see these cases through to the end, get whatever 06:31.533 --> 06:33.700 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% payout, get whatever accountability is necessary for the police officers. 06:33.700 --> 06:34.700 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% It's a start. 06:34.700 --> 06:36.766 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% It's not the end of the story. 06:36.766 --> 06:39.766 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JEFFREY BROWN: For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Jeffrey Brown in Flushing Meadows, New York.