Looking back at James Blake career, the recent police controversy appears to be distasteful
Former American tennis star James Blake was recently misidentified as a suspect in an identity-theft case by the NYPD during the US Open tour as he was tackled, handcuffed and detained while standing outside the hotel he was residing in. The CCTV footage recorded Blake scrolling through his phone outside the hotel building when he was attacked by a plainclothes policeman who attacked him, swung him around and forced Blake to the ground.
Thrown to the ground, handcuffed and detained
Blake has been vocal about this incident to the media and has told that he wishes to raise his voice against the excessive force being used. He added that he was detained for 15 minutes even after protesting to the cops and asking them to see his identification documents several times. Another report suggests that the entire investigation might be flawed; it was revealed that the suspect they mistook James Blake for wasn’t even involved in the identity-theft case.
NYPD commissioner William Bratton issued an apology to former Tennis star James Blake as this incident adds to the Michael Brown, Sandra Bland and Freddie Gray cases, wherein white cops have been accused of racism.
A glance at the once No.4 seeded former American Tennis star
Looking back at Blake’s career, it’s really very difficult to mismatch him with a suspect in an identity theft case. He achieved a career-high ranking of No.4 (in November 2006), though he only managed to make it to the quarterfinals at Australian Open once and US Open twice. He won all of his singles titles in ATP Tour 250 and 500 series, taking the tally up to 10 and contributing highly in Blake’s career entering the top 10 seed.
Blake has won 7 titles in doubles, none of them at a grand slam, but one of them came in an ATP 1000 Master series and another 6 of them from Tour 250. Blake is also the third player of African-American descent to have represented USA in Davis Cup, India, at a young age of 21.
He went on to help Team USA secure a 4-1 win at the Davis Cup final against Russia in 2007 after he won two singles match against Mikhail Youzhny and Dmitry Tursunov.
James Blake is said to possess one of the most powerful forehands in the game, with immense power in his volley and serves. His flashy footwork and flat forehand returns are also notable in his playing style.
Distasteful police controversy around James Blake
Looking through these numbers and accolades, the recent police controversy involving James Blake turn out to be entirely distasteful and may have a racial bias deep within. The manhandling of several Americans by white policemen has been in the news over the past year, and in this case, the tennis star revealed that a total of five white NYPD personnel were present during the incident.
It’s really hard to digest the fact that the cops weren’t interested in looking at his personal identification papers, although the former world No.4 has been a known figure in the USA ever since he made his mark in 2001.
In light of the recent incidents against the black community and the Black Lives Matter movement, the police should have exercised more caution and excessive use of force was an unnecessary mean which put them in trouble.
James Frascatore, the policeman who forced Blake to the ground, was named a defendant in four other cases of police brutality, and following complaints by the tennis star who wished him to be fired, the policeman has been placed on desk duty.