10 Athletes Who Made Historic Political or Social Protests

9. Los Suns

In April 2010, the state of Arizona passed a new immigration law in an effort to stop rampant illegal immigration from Mexico. The law was passed in the Arizona State Legislature with strong bi-partisan support and was modeled on existing federal immigration statutes. However, many people in Arizona saw the law as racist and un-American, including Robert Sarver, owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. In response, Sarver rallied his team to make a political statement on national television. During a May 5, 2010 playoff game between the Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs, Sarver had the entire team wear jerseys with the logo “Los Suns” on it. The jerseys were to both protest of the new immigration law and show solidarity with Mexican immigrants. The media reported that the entire Suns team unanimously decided to wear the jerseys. And, the game on May 5 that year had the bonus of occurring on Cinco De Mayo, a major Mexican holiday. It should be noted that some Suns fans hated the protest. President Obama specifically hailed it as “terrific.”  The Los Suns jerseys made a strong statement indeed.

(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

8. Pat Tillman Joins The Army

A political protest of a different sort occurred after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. In the aftermath of the attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., Pat Tillman, a former Arizona State standout and then-Arizona Cardinal safety, quit a promising and lucrative career in the NFL and enlisted in the U.S. Army. The Cardinals offered Tillman a three-year extension valued at $3.6 million to stay, but he turned down the offer and joined the Army in May 2002. After serving in Iraq, Tillman became an Army Ranger in late 2003. Deployed to Afghanistan, Tillman was tragically killed in a friendly fire accident on April 22, 2004. This story illustrates a great conviction on the part of one athlete. After 9/11, Tillman thought it was more important to fight for his country than to fight on the gridiron. It was a bold personal and political statement that inspired many and still echoes to this day.

(AP Photo/Roy Dabner, File)

7. Brandon Marshall Campaigns For Mental Health

Many professional athletes suffer mental health problems in silence, refusing to acknowledge their issues for fear of looking weak or being stigmatized. This had led many professional athletes to delve into substance abuse and even commit suicide, either during or after their career. NFL receiver Brandon Marshall has had the courage to try and change all that in recent years. Diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder in 2011, Marshall has been outspoken about his own struggles with mental illness and working hard to try to change stereotypes about people who suffer from mental health problems. As part of his advocacy, Marshall founded the nonprofit organization “Project 375” and, in 2013, he happily paid an NFL fine for wearing green cleats in honor of Mental Health Awareness Week. All his good work hasn’t overshadowed his work on the football field either. Marshall is the only NFL player to earn 1,000 receiving yards in a season for four different football teams. Impressive stuff.

(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

6. Bill Russell Marches For Civil Rights

NBA Hall of Famer Bill Russell did it all on the court. During his tenure with the Boston Celtics in the 1950s and 60s, the big man won 11 championships as a player – a record that still stands to this day. However, Russell was also an ardent political activist during the 1960s. He campaigned for civil rights and equality for black people as hard as he played basketball. Russell participated in the 1963 March on Washington (seen below), and when renowned civil rights activist Medgar Evers was assassinated, Bill Russell traveled to the racially charged Jackson, Mississippi to ask Medger’s brother Charlie how he could help. Russell also met several times with both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X and joined each man in their protests and acts of civil disobedience. Russell said he was inspired to get involved by the racism he encountered in his own home of Boston, despite the NBA titles he helped deliver to the city. In honor of his skill on the basketball court and activism off it, Russell was given a statue in Boston in 2013.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Civil_Rights_March_on_Washington,_D.C._(Former_National_Basketball_Association_player,_Bill_Russell.)_-_NARA_-_542073_-_Crop.png Via Wikipedia

5. Jim Brown Starts The Black Economic Union

Jim Brown is regarded as the greatest running back in NFL history. He has also been a vocal activist throughout his life. In addition to marching alongside Bill Russell in many civil rights protests in the 1960s, Jim Brown also started the Black Economic Union, which helped black professional athletes establish their own businesses after their playing careers ended. He also founded Amer-I-Can, a non-profit organization that focuses on educating high-risk African American youth. These are just some of the ways in which Brown helped to advance equality and social justice in the United States over the years. Interestingly, he was also part of one of Hollywood’s first interracial love scenes, opposite actress Raquel Welch in the 1969 movie 100 Rifles. A true renaissance man.

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/jim-brown-80th-birthday-john-wooten-former-browns-teammate-leader-mentor-lessons/i7sz5zl3p6uh1lelv9ou2sy95 Via sportingnews.com

4. Shawn Green Respects His Jewish Faith

Shawn Green is one of the best sluggers ever in Major League Baseball. He once hit four home runs in a single game – a league record. He also drove in 100 runs four times and scored 100 runs four times. Not surprising, Green won both the Golden Glove and Silver Slugger Awards during his baseball career from 1993 to 2007. However, Green is also Jewish and devoted to his faith. So much so, that he refused to play baseball on Yom Kippur each year, which is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. Instead, Green would spend Yom Kippur fasting and praying. The fact that Yom Kippur typically occurs in late September, when his team was often in the thick of a playoff race, didn’t faze him. Despite the protests of many of his teammates and fans, Green refused to pick up his bat and play on the Jewish holiday. His faith was more important to him than baseball, an important statement that your job isn’t the only thing that defines you as a person.

(AP Photo/Paul Connors)

3. Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ Black Power Salute

It has become one of the most iconic photographs of the 20th Century, and arguably the most iconic sports image ever: two American track and field athletes stand atop the medal platform at the Olympic Games, their heads bowed, and their right hands raised to the sky, fists clenched in protest against the treatment of African Americas and in support of Black Power. It all came about at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, when sprinter Tommie Smith won the 200 m Gold medal and fellow countryman John Carlos won the Bronze. The two black athletes received their medals and took to the platform for the national anthem. As the “Star Spangled Banner” began to play, both Carlos and Smith performed the Black Power salute. While they were roundly booed when they left the platform for making a political statement, the image resonated and has had a lasting impact in the ensuring years. It is now an image that encourages resistance in the face of social and political injustice. Sports Illustrated reported in 2015 that the photograph of their protest is the most reproduced image in the history of the Olympics.

(AP Photo/File)

2. Muhammad Ali Refuses Army Induction

Muhammad Ali is remembered as one of the best and most beloved boxers, and athletes, in history. But the former heavyweight champion stirred controversy when he refused to be inducted in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Indeed, Ali’s refusal to join the Army was extremely controversial in 1967 considering that he was, at that time, the World Heavyweight champ. Refusing enlistment, Ali was supported in his protest by fellow athlete Bill Russell. At the time, Ali’s said his stand was based on his beliefs as a Muslim and his stated opposition to the Vietnam War. Ali was promptly arrested and later found guilty of draft evasion. He was stripped of his boxing titles and had his fighting license suspended. The now-former champ could not step into a boxing ring for three years. In 1971 the U.S. Supreme Court overruled his conviction, and in 1975 Ali regained the heavyweight title after defeating George Foreman in a fight that took place in Kinshasa, Zaire. Back in 1967, polls showed a majority of Americans disagreed with Ali’s refusal to serve in the Army. However, as the public’s opinion of the Vietnam War slowly changed in the decades that followed, Ali’s stance has come to be viewed as heroic.

(AP Photo)

1. Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson Break Baseball’s Color Barrier

Probably the greatest example of an athlete’s courage in the face of social inequality and political injustice occurred in 1946, when Brooklyn Dodgers general manager and president Branch Rickey (who was white) signed African American baseball player Jackie Robinson to a professional baseball contract. It was a pivotal moments in the history of American sports, as well as the history of the entire nation. Rickey was a former baseball player turned executive, who had been looking for a chance to reintegrate the game of baseball for years. In the euphoria that immediately followed World War II, Rickey thought the time was right and signed Robinson, effectively ending the racial segregation of professional sports. Robinson became the first African-American to play professional baseball in nearly 50 years. He debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 and proved himself to be one of the finest players of his generation. Within ten years, African Americans were freely able to participate in baseball at the highest levels. Rickey’s decision came eight years ahead of Rosa Parks bus protest and tenyears before Martin Luther King appeared on the national stage. Together, Rickey and Robinson had an impact on the world of baseball, sport, and society as a whole. Their example still shines today.

(AP Photo/stf)