Man spray paints ‘white lives matter’ on statue of black hero Arthur Ashe

Vandals in Richmond, Virginia reportedly painted "white lives matter" on a statue of Arthur Ashe, a historic black tennis champion and civil rights activist.

Photos of the graffiti were shared on Twitter Wednesday morning. The statue was also defaced with the initials "WLM." Photos showed a white man vandalizing the statue. Activists said that he identified himself as "everyone."

Black Lives Matter activists quickly painted over the tags with "BLM" slogans.

Richmond police were said to be investigating the incident.

View some of the photos below.