Black athletes have endured an incredibly difficult path to the professional sports stage. That hasn’t stopped many of the top performers from using their platform to fight for justice, whether it be speaking out against unjust occupations of foreign land, or standing up for their brothers and sisters here at home. Pictured left, Jackie Robinson forced his way into the all-white MLB by outplaying the competition and standing tall in the face of racism. Top right, Colin Kaepernick is known for kneeling during the national anthem to protest police killings of unarmed Black men and women. Kaepernick holds the NFL record for rushing yards in a game by a quarterback with 181 in the 2013 NFC Championship. Bottom right, not only could heavyweight superstar Muhammad Ali float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, he could take a stance on justice when the microphone was centered in front of him.
Josh Gibson is recognized by many as baseball’s all-time home run king. Estimates put Gibson north of 800 career home runs between the Negro League and independent baseball. According to author Alexander Boeck, Gibson was the second highest paid player in Black baseball behind Satchel Paige. Gibson is known as one of the most powerful hitters to play the game. He spent most of his Negro League career with the Homestead Grays, where his primary position was catcher, but would also play both third base and left field. While in the Negro League, he hit a total of 113 home runs and had 361 RBIs.
Black athletes have endured an incredibly difficult path to the professional sports stage. That hasn’t stopped many of the top performers from using their platform to fight for justice, whether it be speaking out against unjust occupations of foreign land, or standing up for their brothers and sisters here at home. Pictured left, Jackie Robinson forced his way into the all-white MLB by outplaying the competition and standing tall in the face of racism. Top right, Colin Kaepernick is known for kneeling during the national anthem to protest police killings of unarmed Black men and women. Kaepernick holds the NFL record for rushing yards in a game by a quarterback with 181 in the 2013 NFC Championship. Bottom right, not only could heavyweight superstar Muhammad Ali float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, he could take a stance on justice when the microphone was centered in front of him.
Editor’s Note:This story has been provided as a source for education and further research. The Daily News staff has decided to publish this to celebrate Black History Month and recognize the cultural significance and impact of Black history. Look forward to more coverage of Black Americans’ innumerable contributions to this nation throughout February.
Black athletes populate the current all-star rosters in major professional sports, but it wasn’t always that way. In a not-so-distant past, Black athletes were vilified by the very sports world that celebrates them today. From football analysts historically questioning the intelligence of Black quarterbacks, to student sections shouting monkey noises toward players in Jamestown, North Dakota, Black athletes facing unjust criticisms and jeers in the arena still occurs today. The 2023 Super Bowl was the first of which to feature two Black quarterbacks, as the highest level of sports continues to make strides in diversity and equity.
In this Goodlife, I take a look at a few Black athletes who have impacted me as a player, a writer and a fan. From standing against interventionist foreign policies that undermine our freedoms at home, to kneeling on the world’s biggest national stage, I respect when an athlete uses their platform to call for positive societal change and advocates for personal liberty.
Jackie Robinson - Pro Baseball
Jackie Robinson is well known for breaking the race barrier as Major League Baseball’s first Black player. Robinson played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League in 1945, before embarking on a Hall of Fame career with the Brooklyn Dodgers that included seven all-star selections, one MVP award and a 1955 World Series Championship. Robinson’s No. 42 is retired by Major League Baseball, except annually on April 15, “Jackie Robinson Day,” when every player wears the number as a sign of unity to commemorate Robinson’s legacy.
“He (Jackie Robinson) knew he had to do well. He knew that the future of Blacks in baseball depended on it. The pressure was enormous, overwhelming, and unbearable at times. I don’t know how he held up. I know I never could have,” Dodgers center fielder Duke Snider said, according to Baseball Almanac.
What many people don’t know is that Robinson was also a star football player and track star at UCLA. Robinson led the NCAA in punt return average in the 1939 and 1940 seasons and still holds the school record for yards per carry in a single season.
Colin Kaepernick - Pro Football
When people across the United States took the stance that standing for a flag was more important than the values behind that flag, it made no sense to me. They refused to empathize with the oppressed, instead fixating the conversation on a material object and a song that was penned by a slave owner.
The outrage over the “disrespect” of America that came from Black NFL players kneeling during the National Anthem showed a complete misunderstanding of peaceful protest on the largest sports stage. The silent protests staged by Colin Kaepernick and others beginning in 2016 escalated the national conversation, it just wasn’t about the topics which were being protested — police brutality, racism and racial profiling.
Americans were often less outraged by these heinous acts, and more outraged by Black football players peacefully attempting to bring attention to them. Colin Kaepernick began kneeling on the advice of a former Green Beret, Nate Boyer, who told the NFC Champion quarterback that kneeling before the flag would be a better form of protest than sitting. Boyer joined Kaepernick on the sideline, standing beside the San Francisco 49ers quarterback as he knelt.
Kaepernick was seemingly blacklisted from the NFL for his peaceful demonstrations. Although league owners wouldn’t admit as much, players with half the pedigree of the dual threat quarterback found themselves on active rosters, while Kaepernick couldn’t even secure a tryout. Videos would later emerge of Kaepernick looking extremely sharp in private workouts, but no signings ever materialized. Still, the former University of Nevada standout continued onward with his “Know Your Rights Camp,” while providing beds for single mothers, fundraising for underprivileged communities and using social media to expose instances of police brutality and violence across the United States.
Muhammad Ali - Pro Boxing
Martial arts have always fascinated me. You can’t talk about the sweet science without mentioning Muhammad Ali. While he was a fighter inside the ring, the heavyweight boxer was notoriously anti-war and was stripped of his heavyweight title for refusing to declare himself eligible for the Vietnam War, a war that is recognized by many today as an endless entanglement that resulted in unnecessary casualties. In total, an estimate by the Department of Defense determined 1.2 million civilian casualties and over 58,000 U.S. military casualties as a result of the conflict. Estimated civilian deaths range from 30-46% of the total casualties of the Vietnam War.
“Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs?” Ali said at the time.
Ali was banned from boxing for three years and remained out on bail while appealing his conviction for draft evasion, which was ultimately dismissed in an 8-0 decision by the Supreme Court in 1971.
“I strongly object to the fact that so many newspapers have given the American public and the world the impression that I have only two alternatives in this stand — either I go to jail or go to the Army,” Ali said. “There is another alternative, and that alternative is justice. If justice prevails, if my constitutional rights are upheld, I will be forced to go neither to the Army nor jail. In the end, I am confident that justice will come my way, for the truth must eventually prevail.”
Black Legends: Josh Gibson
Josh Gibson is recognized by many as baseball’s all-time home run king. Estimates put Gibson north of 800 career home runs between the Negro League and independent baseball. According to author Alexander Boeck, Gibson was the second highest paid player in Black baseball behind Satchel Paige. Gibson is known as one of the most powerful hitters to play the game. He spent most of his Negro League career with the Homestead Grays, where his primary position was catcher, but would also play both third base and left field. While in the Negro League, he hit a total of 113 home runs and had 361 RBIs.
Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
The water tower in Gibson’s hometown of Bueno Vista, Ga., reads 'Home of Josh Gibson.'
Robert has spent over a decade reporting Twin Towns Area athletics, coaching baseball and officiating sporting events. From MMA to golf, he covers the entire sports spectrum through stories, photos and videos. He was named Rookie of the Year in 2021 by the North Dakota Newspaper Association.
