Induct Richard Williams and Oracene Price To The International Tennis Hall of Fame

PETITION: To Induct Coaches Richard Williams and Oracene Price as "Contributors" Into The International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2022.  

We call on the Board of Governors and the Enshrinement Committee of the International Tennis Hall of Fame to review the twice submitted nominations of Richard Williams and Oracene Price (R&O) and vote to induct R&O into the Hall of Fame. There is no one group more deserving of inclusion into the International Tennis Hall of Fame than Richard and Oracene, hence our call.

The International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHOF) has three eligibility criteria:

1) True pioneer, visionary leader, individual or group that had a transcendent impact on the sport.

No one has impacted the game of tennis in the last three decades as much as Richard and Oracene. R&O couldn't have foreseen their influence on future generations via the overwhelming success of Venus & Serena Williams. Still, they were unapologetic about the non-traditional journey on which their daughters would excel. They overcame Jim Crow segregation first to teach themselves the game and then coach Venus and Serena Williams to multiple Grand Slam Championships and Olympic success, hence rewriting tennis history. In the process, they changed how the game of women's tennis is played. 

In addition, they gifted parents of different races a template to encourage their children to get involved in the game, which has been a catalyst for the growth and development of the sport around the world. 

2) Either five years removed from committed work in tennis or 65yo.

Both meet this criterion.

3) Consideration will be given to integrity, sportsmanship & character.

Richard and Oracene, along with their Grand Slam Champion players, endured the most degrading public display of racist behavior by the attendees of the BNP Paribas Tournament at Indian Wells in Palm Springs in 2001, as well as disparaging remarks from broadcast network commentators on and off-air. The racial abuse resulted in the Williams Family boycotting the tournament for 15 years and PAYING A FINE each year, forfeiting match wins, championships & prize money! And yet, they returned despite receiving no public apology.  

Despite their immense contribution to the game of tennis, Williams and Price are conspicuously absent from the International Tennis Hall of Fame. In 2017 & 2019, despite their names being submitted for nomination, the ITHOF Nomination Committee excluded them from the ballot. We are also mindful that ITHOF implemented two procedural rule changes, which denied their consideration and approval into the Tennis Hall of Fame in each of these instances.

It's incredulous for an organisation that honours players in a sport that practiced discrimination against Blacks to this day to have only THREE BLACK inductees - Althea Gibson, Arthur Ashe, and its lone Black Contributor, Dr. Robert "Whirlwind" Johnson in its 67-year history. After a long-fought campaign, Dr Johnson's family had to wait 38 years after his passing in 1971 at the age of 72 to finally see him honored in 2009. It's beyond rich to talk of integrity and character with that history. Richard and Oracene should not go through the same ordeal. 

In a time of social justice movements to stop the disenfranchisement and murder of Blacks and finally telling the true history of this "democracy", we agree with Martin Luther King, Jr. "Justice too long delayed is justice denied." This is unacceptable.

So we support and expect the ITHOF with all expedition to make right these egregious oversights and induct Richard Williams & Oracene Price at its next induction in 2022. We also call on the ITHOF to reverse the rule changes that discriminates against Wheelchair players by reverting to the pre-2018 guidelines for Contributors & Wheelchair nominees.

Ahmed Sule

Carey Robinson

Glenn Gilliam