6 Athletes Who Have Also Been Social Activists

Image via Complex Original

As celebrated as Ali’s boxing career is, it’s easy to forget he probably could’ve been far greater. The GOAT was a 25-year-old undefeated world heavyweight champion who recently KO’d Zora Folley when he refused to serve in the Vietnam War citing his religious beliefs.

Ali got his boxing license stripped, was found guilty of draft evasion and lost nearly four years of his boxing prime. He continued social work years after he reclaimed the championship and eventually retired. In 2005, The Greatest earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his continued sense of social responsibility.

For too many, Russell’s legend starts and ends at his NBA career—it’s myopic, yet understandable since having 11 rings isn’t a common thing. But make no mistake: Russell was in the trenches during the civil rights struggle. He participated in the 1963 March on Washington and was on Muhammad Ali’s side when he refused to serve in the military. When renowned activist Medgar Evers was assassinated, Russell traveled to the racially charged Jackson, Miss.—where Evers died—to ask his brother Charlie how he could help. Mind you, this was months after Russell and the Celtics won their fifth straight title.

But as good as Russell was on the court, he was still black. He was unwelcome in the city he won 11 championships for. 

“He said, ‘I'm going to spend the rest of my life here in Redding [Mass.].’ He felt that he was welcomed,” said his former teammate Tom Heinsohn. “[But] when he went to buy a new house, there were people who were circulating positions against him in Redding.”

Boston did eventually accept Russell as a key figure in its sports history. His legacy was solidified in a statue the city unveiled in 2013.

Brown was an NFL running back who became one of the best ever, an actor who took part in what’s believed to be Hollywood’s first interracial love scene (100 Rifles), and a moral bastion who became a Live on the Sunset Strip joke. Everything Jim Brown is done to the max, including activism. In the 1960s, he started the Black Economic Union, which used professional athletes to help establish black-owned businesses. After that folded, Brown founded Amer-I-Can, a still-running non-profit organization that focuses on educating high-risk youth. 

Out of St. Louis’ three major league teams at the time, the Rams made the loudest statement following Darren Wilson’s non-indictment in the wake of Michael Brown's death. In Week 13 vs. the Raiders, tight end Jared Cook, and receivers Stedman Bailey, Kenny Britt, Chris Givens, and Tavon Austin came out of the tunnel with their hands raised as a display of solidarity. 

“I don’t want the people in the community to feel like we turned a blind eye to it,” Britt said. “What would I like to see happen? Change in America.”

The gesture was powerful enough to earn a response from the St. Louis Police Officers Association. It’s not about that, though; those five players provided a suture for a heavily wounded community. It’s one of the Rams’ last great moments before their move to Los Angeles

After the death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, many people called for LeBron James to sit out games as a sign of protest. As the star of the Cleveland Cavaliers, one who grew up in nearby Akron, Ohio, a gesture like that stood to send a powerful message. He didn’t though, and played on with his team—who, in not being LeBron James, were free from activists’ urgings.

However, James has been far from silent over the past few years. He and the 2011–12 Heat posed in hoodies to support Trayvon Martin’s family and wore “I Can’t Breathe” shirts as a tribute to Eric Garner. James has also emphasized education. Last August, his foundation teamed up with the University of Akron and JPMorgan Chase in a program that awarded its students four-year scholarships to the university. James said he wanted to use his platform to help others, and he’s no hypocrite.

Even though his season ended at Week 17—again—when the Jets failed to make the post season, Marshall solidified his spot as one of this generation’s finest wide receivers. He became the first player ever to earn 1,000 receiving yards in a season for four different teams. That his philanthropic work isn’t entirely overshadowed by his on-field greatness is a testament to his effort. Marshall has been proactive in spreading mental health awareness ever since he revealed in 2011 that he was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. As part of his advocacy, he founded the nonprofit organization Project 375 and, in 2013, paid the NFL for wearing green cleats in honor of Mental Health Awareness Week. Last year, Marshall told a bit of his personal journey toward activism in a PSA.