6 Athletes Who Would Have Had More Memorable Responses to Donald Sterling Than The LA Clippers‏

Muhammad Ali Former professional boxer Muhammad Ali is generally considered among the greatest heavyweights in the sport’s history. But the champion was not only highly regarded for his skills in the ring but for the values he exemplified outside of it. Ali was willing to speak out against racism in the United States, and the effect it had on domestic and foreign policy. His uncompromising stance eventually led to a draft evasion conviction; he was stripped of his boxing title; and he became embroiled in the toughest legal, political, professional and personal battle of his life. Jim Brown Jim Brown is best known for his exceptional record-setting, nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns (1957 to 1965). Widely considered to be one of the greatest professional athletes in the history of the United States, Brown is also an unapologetic civil rights activist. Brown became involved in social and economic causes in the Black community in the 1960s. While he was still playing with Cleveland, he launched the Black Economic Union, which used professional athletes as facilitators in the establishment of Black-run enterprises, urban athletic clubs and youth motivation programs. The success of the Union caused the FBI to consider Brown a political threat, and the agency monitored the former athlete during that time. Jackie Robinson Jackie Robinson (1919 - 1972) is known for becoming the first African-American to play major league baseball. Instead of remaining quiet and accepting the status quo to ensure his spot in the league, Robinson used the opportunity to draw attention to the plight of African-American athletes, the Civil Rights Movement and other social and political causes. In July 1949, he testified on discrimination before the House Un-American Activities Committee. In 1952, he publicly called out the New York Yankees as a racist organization for not having broken the color barrier five years after he began playing with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Bill Russell Hailed as the greatest winner in sports, Basketball Hall of Fame center Bill Russell led the Boston Celtics to an unprecedented 11 championships in just 13 seasons (1956 - 1969). Even as he won on the court, Russell faced tremendous discrimination while playing in Boston. However, he did not allow this to deter his exceptional performance on the court and his outspoken support for the Civil Rights Movement. Russell publicly backed the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr and during the historic 1963 March on Washington and he sat in the front row to listen to King’s inspiring “I Have a Dream” speech. Tommie Smith and John Carlos Texan Tommie Smith and John Carlos of New York rocked the world when they gave a “Black Power” salute during their medal ceremony at the 1968 Olympics. The Black Power salute was a symbol of protest against Black poverty, lynchings, and for the Africans who died during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. In the United States, Smith and Carlos braved ridicule, public humiliation and death threats to themselves and their families because of the stance they took against injustice in the world. Despite this, neither man regretted the action they took.

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