San Quentin’s music program filled the air with jazz and rhythm and blues Oct. 17 as inmates enjoyed sporting activities on the prison’s Lower Yard.
Soccer, basketball, softball and tennis balls were flying around that Saturday morning, while in a corner of the yard, inmate-veterans practiced for November’s Veterans Day ceremony.
Amid the hustle and bustle, a film crew from Fox Sports News ventured inside to interview the San Quentin Tennis Team while they played with and against some local players from the free world.
“I wanted to do a story about how race segregation works inside prison,” Fox producer David Brand said. “Awhile back, I read about the tennis court in the San Francisco Chronicle and saw that it was desegregated. I thought a story about it would resonate with a lot of people.”
On the tennis court, African-American, White, Asian, as well as other inmates, were mingling with each other and with men and women from the Bay Area who came inside to play tennis. They tested racquets, matched teams, set up games and then played doubles and mixed doubles.
“I think it’s a great way to get exercise and stay away from the negative influences of prison life,” said inmate Chris Schuhmacher. “I get to socialize with inmates I’d normally not be able to, along with playing against the outside tennis community.”
Inmate Terry Slaughter said he’s been incarcerated 30 years and played tennis at several other prisons for the last 20 years.
Slaughter arrived at San Quentin in 2011.
“The tennis program here is special,” Slaughter said. “The mature attitudes and amount of cultures cannot compare to other prisons.” He added: “San Quentin has a more natural environment. There’s respect and sportsmanship because the players come from self-help programs that demand rehabilitation.”
Slaughter is a member of several self-help programs, including TRUST (Teaching Responsibility Utilizing Sociological Training), Restorative Justice, Criminal Gangs Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. He has completed courses in Addiction Recovery Counseling and Non-Violent Communications. He is also a Peer Health Educator. Currently, he’s enrolled in Vocational Electronics. Slaughter said he is eligible to apply for parole in 2017.
“Tennis for me is an opportunity to experience a very natural, easy feeling inside of me. In other words, it’s stress free,” said inmate Raphael Calix, 59. “There’s a free spirit in tennis that allows me to get away from the stresses of prison life. Any worries that I have during the day are gone when I step on the court and get into the game. On the San Quentin court people are no longer defined by race or color. They are persons playing the game with me.”
In summing up his day, Fox producer Bland commented that getting cleared by prison authorities to do this story “wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Public Information Officer, Lt. Sam Robinson was great.”
