Frances Tiafoe discusses fighting for racial justice, emulating Arthur Ashe and following in the footsteps of Venus and Serena Williams.

 

Frances Tiafoe

'Becoming the next black
guy to leave a mark on

"That was probably the best thing I've ever done in my life."

Frances Tiafoe wasn't referring to winning his first title in two years at October's Challenger Tour in Parma, nor reaching the last 16 of the US Open, or anything he has achieved on court early in his career for that matter, but using his status to influence change across the world.

The prevalance of systemic racism in America reared its ugly head once again this year when Breonna Taylor was fatally shot by local law enforcement in her Kentucky home, and again when Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd after kneeling on his neck for just short of nine minutes, and again when Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by Rusten Sheskey in Wisconsin while his three sons sat in the back of his car.

A nation torn apart, an African American community emotionally drained. And 'centuries' still a distressingly-appropriate answer to rhetorical questions regarding how long racial injustice and police brutality has been entrenched in American society.

"It's a real-life thing," said Tiafoe, speaking exclusively to Sky Sports. "Will Smith said it, racism has been going on for a long time now. This is not some theme, this is a real-life thing. Obviously, in America I feel like we're a bit divided right now but it's something that's going to take years and years."

There's something disconcerting as Tiafoe adds that, even now, "some people don't really understand it".the gaThe 22-year-old, who is the son of Sierra Leonean immigrants, accompanied legions of peaceful protestors across professional sport in challenging a tainted system, whether it be through social media, taking a knee, printing social justice messages on their clothes, supporting charities or joining marches.

Tiafoe and his girlfriend Ayan Broomfield were part of an Instagram video alongside Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, Coco Gauff and many others in which they laid down their rackets and raised their hands in a bid to enhance awareness about the unlawful killings of African Americans.me of t"Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Jacob Blake, these guys, when you look at that you're like 'wow, they're just going to storm in there?'," he said.

"They could storm in on my mum's house when I'm not there. It's just not acceptable. These things hurt. It definitely felt good when I raised awareness, to see how far that video went and what that meant to them to try and make people understand. I'm happy about it, I'm just going to keep doing my part."

Merely sewing the world back together comes with the risk of it being ripped apart again. For Tiafoe, it's about keeping the conversations alive and transforming the landscape, for the long-term.

Having initially had reservations about voicing his feelings publicly, he now has no concerns over the reality of dividing opinion.

"Real recognises real," he explained. "Roger Federer to me is the most perfect guy in the world and I bet some people don't like him.

"You can't please everybody and you kind of move with that energy. You do things that are right and these people are doing things that are right and they can sleep well at night knowing that. Some people are going to love it, some people are going to hate it, you've just got to swallow it."ennis.'