The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-07-09
TALKING
IT OVER
BIZ JoE WILLIAMS

NEW YORK, July 9.-The bust
II ness Of being an amateur in
sports is a most complex and be-
~wildering proposition both to the
laity and the practitioner and this
in its fundamentals is peculiar be-
cause theoretically at least an
ann eur is a person who plays the
a. le for sport as distinguished from
a erson who plays it for profit.
II would secm that the line between the
ivo IL clearly drawn and that IL ought TO
be simple enough 10 classify the one st
from the othsr 70 the complete Satisfac-
lion Of one and all.
But this Is not always the case. Indeed
lt Is ssidom the case and I suspect the
reason vhy Is that amateur sports in many
FIELDS have 50 Ear outEroEn the gallant
iceals and principles Of their conception as
10 have moved into an entirely different
sphere. with entirely different ambitions.
q n
TOR example, II must be very
Il hard for the uninitiated to COM
prehend the present position of VIII
liam Tilden the twice with respect
to the United States Tennis Asso-
citation and the forthcoming Davis
cup matches.
Il develops that TiIden will forfeit 5000
N he plays in the Cup matches. This Is
The sum he is said to have been Euaran-
iced to cover the matches for an Ameri-
ran news agency.
Tilden can not accept the money and be
Eligible to compete for the stars and
Stripes. the GOOD old Stars and Stripes.
because % DO so would be IN eontraven-
ton CT one OF the tennis associations
most vital regulations appertaining TO
amateur purity.
Accompanying player can not write COM
menfs on . current tournament In which
be participates. He must wait three or
four GAYS and then write his Impressions.
Thus 10 Tildsn or any other active player
we're to do q piece on the Davis Cup
matches on a given Tuesday and accept
money therefor he would become an I'M
desirable character. untitled 70 associate in
SPORT With the better and finer people.
=
But BY waiting a specified period Of time
and then writing these same comments he
Is dissolved Of all unethicaI intent and re-
mains an amateur In perfect standing. no
matter what sum his literature Yields. To
the lay mind this Is a distinction with
out both difference and logic but the ten
mis- officials attempt TO Justify It on the
theory that in a general way it tends to
discourage the practice.
q n z
whether Il does or rot hasn't been es-
tablished to my knowledge. / note that
Tildsn and others. including Helen Wills
Moody. continue TO have . pieces in the
papers about tennis and presumably they
are being paid for them.
r = =
TXTHAT I seem to fail to grasp
w is why an amateur becomes a
professional for writing at one time
and does not at another. I mean.
1 can't understand why it wouldn't
be more sensible and rational to
rule that they can write all the time
or that they can't write at all.
q = =
But perhaps this is demanding too much.
II would strip the amateur question of
much Of its teompiexity and not a little If
ia hypocrisy and then IL would no longer
be an amateur question. without which
tennis at any rate would BE- unacceptable.
incidentally, Frank Hunter, who
Is TIlden's closest friend in tennis,
tells me the veteran champion will
not compete on the American team.