TENNIS STAR ARGUES FOR INDIVIDUAL STAR

"College football today is a professional sport, because it commercializes the collective ability of the players, although not the individual," said William T. Tilden 2nd, tennis champion of this country for the past five years, in an interview with a CRIMSON reporter recently.

Supporter of Red Grange

"Of course this money does not go to the player, but it might just as well," he continued, "for commercialization presents all the evils of professionalism. This same situation holds in the realm of tennis. The game has been commercialized to the point where all the faults of professionalism are extant in its present make-up, and many controversies result. Therefore, if we are to have this commercialization of all sports, why not pay the individual player? After all, he is the one who does the work. I am a staunch supporter of athletes such as Red Grange, who turn professional, and are so widely criticized for their action. It would do no harm to pay the college football player."

Mr. Tilden now changed his subject to that of tennis, of which he is often hailed as the greatest exponent of all time. "The college tennis star of today cannot make the grade in the tennis championships," he said. "Of course there have been a few, but the competition is getting too keen. In fact, in all sports today, there is a tendency toward the thirties and forties in the ages of the stars, with the exception of golf. Golf used to be called the 'old man's game,' but now it is coming to be perhaps the most youthful of recognized athletics.

Defends Stage Careers of Athletes

His next topic of discussion was the stage or screen career of a champion. "There is a lot of superfluous comment," he declared, "about athletes acting before footlights or camera, and it is wholly unjustified. A man's abilities are his own and his reputation is his own. So when a man, after receiving some publicity in athletics, chooses the stage or the screen for his career, he should be allowed to carry it out without criticism for he must make a living. In other professions besides acting, these accusations are not made. When made, they are the fault of this whole intricate commercialization."

Mr. Tilden stated that his present work on the stage in New York in "Don Q. Jr." called for the part of a boob, which he thought was in no manner connected with his athletic ability.