A couple of players at the US Open have caught the attention of the media but it has nothing to do with their tennis. It has to do with what is on their shirt.
Czech player Tomas Machac took to the court for his second round clash on Thursday against Sebastian Korda and powered his way to a straight sets victory. He was wearing a blue shirt which had the logo of Ben Crump Law on its sleeves. The legal firm is named after a well-known lawyer in America who has been involved in a series of high-profile cases that have made headlines around the world.
“A bit. Not much.” Machac replied when asked if he knew about Crump’s work.
“I just focus on tennis and (my) agent is responsible for that.”
Another player wearing the logo on their outfit was Dusan Lajovic, who lost in the first round to Daniil Medvedev.
Florida-based Crump has been described as America’s ‘black attorney general‘ due to his work on cases of racial inequality and brutality. He has worked with the families of George Floyd, Trayvon Martin and Breonna Taylor. The deaths of these three individuals and others sparked the Black Lives Matter Movement which aims to ‘highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people.’
“I am delighted to sponsor multiple tennis players at this year’s US Open. We pride ourselves on standing for excellence and fairness and this year’s competition has been nothing short of these qualities so far! Excited to see what’s to come!” He wrote on X.
During an interview with The Associated Press, Crump insisted his sponsorship was not about generating more business. Instead, the aim is to promote diversity and inclusion.
“It’s about us supporting diversity and inclusion, where every person, no matter their economic status, will be able to display their talents and compete on as equal a playing field as possible,” he said. “Hopefully when (fans) see the ‘Ben Crump’ patch on the jerseys of the players, they will think about how social justice is important in all aspects of society, in courtrooms and sports arenas.”
No financial details about the sponsorship have been published and it is unknown if Crump plans to sponsor players at tournaments outside of the US Open in the future.
