EDITORIAL: "Once-Reluctant Role Model"

Faced with a no-winFaced with a no-winsituation, Arthur AsheFaced with a no-winsituation, Arthur Ashestill managed to proveFaced with a no-winsituation, Arthur Ashestill managed to provehe is a winner.Faced with a no-winsituation, Arthur Ashestill managed to provehe is a winner.________________________ At one point in his life, Ashe wanted to prove he was a winner in tennis. By choice and will-power, he became the first -- and only -- black tennis player to win Wimbledon. But later in life, when the press began pressuring Ashe about rumors he had AIDS, the tennis pro no longer thought he could win. He felt he would either be forced to disclose that he had the disease, or he would be "put into the unenviable position on that public announcement day of having to lie if I wanted to protect my right to privacy, that any American should be entitled to." In many respects, a lose-lose proposition. It would have been easy to lie -- but he decided not to. After the news was out, however, he could have decided -- just as easily -- to lie low, and wait for the public scrutiny to die down. He chose not to do that, either. Instead, he willingly offered to educate the public about AIDS, through lectures such as the one sponsored by Conaissance this Wednesday. In his latest battle with AIDS, Ashe was forced into choices he did not want to make. Furthermore, he had every right to make decisions that would have protected both his privacy and his personal life. He chose a different route?and even now, Arthur Ashe continues to prove he's a winner.