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Johnny Cash is rolling over in his grave: San Quentin inmates now playing tennis

May 15, 2010, 1:30 PM EDT

San Quentin, what good do you think you do?
Do you think I’ll be different when you’re through?
You bend my heart and mind and you warp my soul,
your stone walls turn my blood a little cold.
– Johnny Cash, “San Quentin”
The heck? I am pretty sure that San Quentin inmates playing tennis while they do their time is not what at all what Johnny Cash envisioned when he wrote the titular tune about the California penitentiary.
Nevertheless, times change and apparently, so do the activities that are available to men on the inside.
In all seriousness, Kurt Streeter wrote an enlightening piece for the Los Angeles Times about how San Quentin recreation director Don DeNivi has used tennis to reach 20 inmates doing time in the infamous prison. It’s a must read. So you better click over and check it out, or I’ll hunt you down and stick a shiv in ya.
If you think I’m joking, I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die. And just so you know, the Man in Black ain’t too happy about you questioning my authority, either.
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Tennis is serious sport in San Quentin Prison [Los Angeles Times]