One witness close to the action didn’t hear the racist comment Donald Young accused opponent Ryan Harrison of during a New York Open match this week.
Ballboy Michael Bruno gave his account of the on-court encounter to ATP investigators, after Young said after the match he was “shocked and disappointed” to hear Harrison, a fellow American, “tell me how you really feel about me as a black tennis player” in a tweet. Harrison, the world No. 43 and the tournament’s sixth seed, defeated Young in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5, in Monday night’s opening round.
Bruno said he felt a responsibility to share what he remembered from the exchange in question, which came during a break in the first set behind the umpire’s chair. The 26-year-old ballboy painted a picture of tension that nearly turned physical, but not one with any references to race.
“I’m right there, and I didn’t hear it,” Bruno said of Young’s account, according to the New York Times. “No one heard a racial comment; no one on my side, no one on Young’s side. No racial terminology whatsoever.”
Bruno acknowledged he could have missed the comment in question, but only if Harrison had “whispered” it, which doesn’t appear to happen at any point in the footage.
The ATP announced Friday it did not find enough evidence based on its investigation to back Young’s claim, which included reviewing footage from the match and interviewing officials and personnel who were present on court. The audio recording of the match did not register their words, though Bruno offered a window into the exchange from his memory.
“Donald Young said, ‘Let’s take this outside, let’s fight outside,’” he said. “Ryan kept saying, ‘You’re this tall,’ and kept gesturing with his hand, ‘You’re this tall, you’re this tall.’”
After the umpire had separated the players and Young had left for a bathroom break, Bruno recalled the umpire issuing Harrison a warning of sorts.
“Harrison said, ‘You should really be addressing him and give him a talking to,’ and that was that,” Bruno said of Harrison’s response to the umpire.
Harrison, who went on to lose his next match and was eliminated from the tournament, had previously denied he inserted race into their verbal confrontation.
“The accusations made by Donald Young tonight following our match are absolutely untrue,” Harrison, 25, tweeted soon after Young’s tweet. “I’m extremely disappointed that someone would say this in reaction to a lost tennis match. Any video/audio will 100% clear me and I encourage anyone with the available resources to find it.”
Young, 28, has not spoken publicly since his accusatory tweet on Monday.