History 1 Bill Russell. Russell is one of the most outspoken leaders the sports world has ever seen. ... 2 LeBron James. ... 3 Craig Hodges. ... 4 Los Angeles Sparks. ... 5 Jim Brown. ... 6 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. ... 7 John Carlos and Tommie Smith. ... 8 Pat Tillman. ...
From Jesse Owens to Michael Sam, there have been an endless line of “political” athletes who are only political because Europe and America’s white supremacist culture deems their existence so.
The 20 Most Political Athletes in U.S. History Billie Jean King. Billie Jean King was the number one tennis player in the world, winning 39 Grand Slam titles, but... Babe Didrikson Zaharias. I said I was not going to put any athlete whose main contribution was that their very existence... Jackie ...
Duh. A big reason why “stick to sports” is such an inherently political statement is because sports are one of the few public spaces left in America, and they are where the American state’s crimes become undeniable. Politics is where we lie to ourselves.
He also was named the nation's top amateur athlete. Mathias led Stanford University to the 1952 Rose Bowl in football.
Sport: Football#N#Achievement: Osborne played three seasons in the NFL, spending time as a wide receiver for both the Washington Redskins and San Francisco 49ers. He went on to coach the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers from 1972-1997, during which time the team won two national championships outright and shared another.#N#Political career: A registered Republican, he easily won the election for Nebraska's 3rd district seat to the House of Representatives in 2000. He was reelected in 2002 and 2004 before launching a failed bid for the Nebraska governor's seat in 2006.
He was the third pick in the 1994 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins but played for just three seasons before retiring in 1997 because of a foot injury. Political career: Shuler was elected to the U.S. House as a Democrat from North Carolina's 11th Congressional District in 2006 and was re-elected in 2008. Read More.
Achievement: At West Point, Eisenhower started as a varsity running back and linebacker in 1912. He even tackled the legendary Jim Thorpe in a game that same year.
Ryun also set world records in the mile, 1,500 meters and 800 meter s.#N#Political career: Ryun served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Kansas' 2nd District from 1996-2007.
Political career: In 1978, Bradley was elected senator from New Jersey, and he served for 18 years. He ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic nomination for president in 2000.
Bill Bradley. Sport: Basketball. Achievement: While at Princeton University, he was a three-time All-American and the 1965 National Player of the Year. Bradley went on to play 10 years in the NBA, where he won two titles with the New York Knicks (1970, '73).
After their athletic careers, a surprising number of athletes and sports figures pursue political careers. Some aspire to be members of parliament or congressmen, while others eschew the legislature in pursuit of becoming Mayors, Governors or even Presidential candidates. What draws athletes to the world of politics is a mystery. Maybe it is the need to stay in the spotlight after their careers in the sports world. Maybe it is the ability to impact a mass of people that draws them to the political arena. Maybe its a combination of the aforementioned motives along with countless others. What is apparent is that a good many athletes turn to politics after their careers are over.
Romário is one of the greatest goalscorers in the history of football. The Brazilian striker played for a host of successful clubs, both in Brazil and Europe, and consistently found the net. He was instrumental in Brazil winning the 1994 World Cup and was named the player of the tournament. In 2010, Romário entered the arena of politics when he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies. The Chamber of Deputies is a federal legislative body and the lower house of the Brazilian National Congress. Politically, Romario has made waves with his criticisms of the 2014 World Cup scheduled to be held in Brazil this summer. He has repeatedly stated that the preparation for the event has been marred by corruption.
Some aspire to be members of parliament or congressmen, while others eschew the legislature i. After their athletic careers, a surprising number of athletes and sports figures pursue political careers. Some aspire to be members of parliament or congressmen, while others eschew the legislature in pursuit of becoming Mayors, ...
Despite the recent successes of both Russell Wilson and Richard Sherman, Steve Largent remains the best player in the history of the Seattle Seahawks. The former Seahawks wide receiver played 14 seasons in the NFL and holds virtually all the Seahawks' receiving records. Largent's prowess on the field earned him an induction into the Hall of Fame in 1995. After retirement Largent served in the U.S. House of Representatives between 1994 and 2002. Largent was a Republican congressman from Oklahoma. In 2002, Largent had aspirations of becoming Governor of Oklahoma and was thought of as the favorite in some circles. Largent lost by just under 7,000 votes to Democratic candidate Brad Henry in a closely contested election.
In his Hall of Fame NFL career, Lynn Swann made a series of acrobatic catches that helped lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl titles in the 1970s. Swann was one of the NFL's best receivers during the 1970s which was a period in which teams preferred to run the ball. Along with teammate John Stallworth, Swann made one half of one of the best receiving tandems in NFL history. In addition, Swann was also named the MVP of Super Bowl X. Swann's political career was not as successful or as long. He held the office of Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and in 2006 won the Republican nomination for Pennsylvania's governor race. Swann ended up losing to Pennsylvania incumbent Ed Rendell by 20 percentage points.
Bradley is probably the most famous former NBA player to pursue a career in politics. His career in the NBA lasted 10 years. All of those season's were spent playing for the New York Knicks. Bradley was part of the two iconic championship teams the Knicks had during the 1970s. The Knicks won the NBA title in 1970 and 1973 and those teams are often talked of in glowing terms, especially by Knicks fans. Bradley became a U.S. Senator from New Jersey in 1979 and was reelected two more times to the Senate. Bradley left the Senate in 1997 and was a candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2000.
Basketball fans remember Kevin Johnson as the point guard on those 1990s Phoenix Suns teams that were perennial contenders in the Western Conference. Johnson had a 12 year NBA career where he played for both the Suns and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Johnson was an explosive point guard who was instrumental in the Suns making the NBA Finals in 1993. Currently, Johnson is the two term mayor of Sacramento, California. Johnson was first elected in 2008 and reelected in 2012. Johnson is the first African American to serve as mayor of Sacramento. Among Johnson's many contributions to the city was his role in making sure the NBA's Sacramento Kings remained in Sacramento amidst fears the team would be relocated to Seattle.
The rally was exceedingly well attended with estimates placing the crowd between 300,000 and 500,000. Beck and his organizers stated goals were to raise money for the families of fallen special forces soldiers and make a public expression of faith and patriotism.
In response the Soviet Union and other Warsaw pact members, organized a boycott of the 1984 summer Olympics in Los Angeles. .
In the 7th inning Delgado would stand silently in protest in the dug out.
In 1958, China withdrew from the 1960 Rome Olympics because they wanted Taiwan banned from participating. In response the IOC, with the support of the Soviet Union but in opposition to US wishes, asked that Taiwan no longer march under the name "The Republic of China," but use the name of Taiwan or Formosa.
They were roundly booed when they left the platform. Carlos and Smith were protesting the treatment of black Americans and other minorities in the United States. Both athletes were expelled from the games and roundly criticized for their actions. Smith and Carlos both went on to play in the NFL.
After serving in Iraq, Tillman became an Army Ranger in late 2003.
On Saturday Albert Pujols and his manager, Tony LaRussa, attended the "Restoring Honor," rally held on the Mall in Washington D.C. The rally was organized by popular radio and television host Glenn Beck.
Track athletes Matthews and Collett stood on the Olympic medal stand in 1972 with their backs to the American flag. They were subsequently banned from competition by the International Olympic Committee. These four men, and the countless others I have inevitably left off this list, have demonstrated immense bravery, as they lost some to all of their careers over a simple, but powerful patriotic protest that cuts at the heart of what this country is all about, in ways both good and bad.
A big reason why “stick to sports” is such an inherently political statement is because sports are one of the few public spaces left in America, and they are where the American state’s crimes become undeniable. Politics is where we lie to ourselves.
Russell is one of the most outspoken leaders the sports world has ever seen. If you have watched an NBA Finals this decade, you have seen titans of the sport like LeBron James and Steph Curry inevitably pass by an old black man with glasses and a bushy white goatee, and stop everything they’re doing to pay their respects. That man—whom the Finals MVP is named after—is a walking monument to the morality and social activism embedded in the NBA’s DNA, largely because he helped create that DNA as much as anyone in the league’s history. Not only was Russell one of his generation’s foremost civil rights leaders in the entire sports landscape, but he was a major hero to the labor fight in America. The 1964 NBA All-Star Game is probably the most consequential all-star game in American sports history, as Russell led the players in threatening to strike and not play the game unless the owners recognized their union. Being the first televised All-Star Game, the owners caved, the game was played, and Russell helped usher in the era of player movement and free agency that we experience today.
One of my favorite tirades to go on is how underrated Kareem is in all aspects of his life. He played 20 years in the NBA (making 19 All-Star teams)—which is astonishing in a sport that is specifically deisgned to grind seven-footers into dust—retiring as the all-time leader in points, games and minutes played, made field goals, blocked shots, defensive rebounds and career wins. As Lew Alcindor, he won 71 consecutive games in high school, then won three straight national titles at UCLA before dominating the NBA for his first four seasons. In 1973, after all this dominance, he converted to Islam and changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Imagine if Kevin Durant had done this in 2013. Fox News would still be going dizzy over it.
In 1965, only 24% of Americans thought the Vietnam War was a mistake. By 1968, a majority, 46%, believed it to be a mistake and in 1970, the War had Trump-like approval numbers with 57% saying it was a mistake.
In 1973, an estimated 90 million people around the world tuned in to ABC’s Battle of the Sexes and watched King sweep Riggs in straight sets, proving how ridiculous his assertion truly was. At the time, it was a revelation. This particular event is a cultural milestone for women’s sports—as they gained athletic legitimacy in the eyes of a generation overnight—and King followed that up with a lifetime of activism fighting for equality on behalf of women in sports and all walks of life.
In 1996, Abdul-Rauf sat for the national anthem because he said the flag was a symbol of oppression and conflicted with his Islamic beliefs. After being suspended for a game, he and NBA commissioner David Stern worked out a compromise where Rauf would bow his head, close his eyes and recite a Muslim prayer during the national anthem. Despite being a terrific three point shooter and setting the single season record for free throw percentage in 1994, he was let go by the Denver Nuggets after the 1996 season, and he only played one more full season in the pros before being out of the league entirely before he turned 30.