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Jim Brown:
Trading in Cleats for a Suit
James Nathaniel Brown later known as Jim Brown was born February 17, 1936 in St. Simons Island, Georgia to parents Theresa and Swinton Brown. When he was just two weeks old his father, Swinton Brown a professional boxer, abandoned his family. Shortly after, his mother, Theresa Brown, also departed taking a job as a housekeeper in Manhasset, NY leaving Jim to be raised by his great grandmother for the first seven years of his life. At age 8 Jim reunited with his mother in Manhasset, NY where he had a difficult time adjusting to his new surroundings. Things improved for Jim once he found an outlet in playing sports. His athletic ability came natural. Although being the product of a broken home Jim went on to become one of the greatest professional athletes in the history of the United States. He was a 1st round 6th overall NFL draft pick in 1956 for the Cleveland Browns. During the 9 seasons he played Jim lead the league in rushing yards, and steered his team toward a championship against Baltimore winning with a score of 27-0. However even with all the success he had, and being at the peak of his career, Jim saw a life outside of football. At the age of 30 before the start of the 1966 season Jim announced his retirement. Some doubted he would stay away from football, but he never returned. (Jim Brown Biography) Instead he began focusing on social and economic causes that were directed at providing opportunities for Black people, especially Black business people (Simmonds).
The social message of Jim Brown’s career after football involved showing society, fellow athletes, and future athletes that there are other outlets after football. He didn’t want to be seen as just another wealthy athlet...
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...coming a public speaker for everyone he had to combine all of the different cultures and experiences that he learned overtime to create one culture and have one voice for everyone. His evolution from one career to the next was like the evolution of man. It evolved and transformed with every step until the achievement of greatness.
Jim Brown saw a life outside of football. He wasn’t interested in just being known as the greatest athlete of all time. He was interested in making the greatest contribution in the world. From breaking through acting barriers to taking on society’s ills his aim is to give a new generation the courage to succeed. His accomplishments off the field were more impressive than those on the football field. (Jim Brown Biography)
“My hope is to start a direction where these young men will be given respect and taught how to utilize it”. –Jim Brown
Earl Lloyd was probably the most courageous player of all time. Some people know him as “The Big Cat” others know him as the first African-American to play in an NBA basketball game with the whites; he changed the way people think and look at basketball and black players and coaches. Earl Lloyd loved basketball from a very young age. Earl had two brothers older than him which was Earnest and Theodore. Earl was very dedicated from a very young age. With his high school team he took them to a state championship and won. After high school Earl went off and took his talents to West Virginia State College. While Earl was there his sophomore year they went 33-0 which is a perfect season. Earl’s team won back to back CIAA conference championships and tournament championships.
In March of 1946, a man named Kenny Washington made a very important contribution for the NFL (Britannica). Kenny Washington became the first African American to ever play in a professional sports league (Amaral). Since he was colored in the 1940 draft class, none of the teams wanted to draft him (Bowen). Even though Kenny was doubted and treated differently than others, he was able to play on a smaller league team near the Pacific coast (Bowen). Then the day finally came when Kenny was allowed to play in the NFL after World War II had ended. This essay will discuss the story of Kenny Washington’s life before he became the first African American football player, what he went through to get there, and why he is important to the NFL.
Once he was able to differentiate his public perception to whom he actually is as an individual it enabled
To determine what factors Brown had to overcome to become a success, we must look at what was against him. He was a black man in a white dominant society. The only factor that could have made Brown being black any worse was if he grew up in the South. He shows us this through his parents they moved from the South to Harlem to escape its prejudices. Like many black families Brown’s parents wanted to be the first Northern urban generation of Negro’s. He showed the kind of Southern black mentality his parents had with the jobs they took and the way they reacted to his quitting of what they called good paying jobs....
Jackie Robinson’s ability to successfully integrate his sport set the stage for many others to advocate for an end to segregation in their respective environments. His period of trials and triumphs were significant to changing American perception of the Civil Rights revolution. By becoming the first African-American baseball player to play in the major leagues, he brought down an old misconception that black athletes were inferior to white athletes. Successively, his example would inspire those advocating for their civil rights, he lived out a message of nonviolence similar to the one Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived out. Despite the constant prejudice he faced in his sport, he was able to keep himself composed and never retaliate.
Historical and sociological research has shown, through much evidence collection and analysis of primary documents that the American sporting industry can give an accurate reflection, to a certain extent, of racial struggles and discrimination into the larger context of American society. To understand this stance, a deep look into aspects of sport beyond simply playing the game must be a primary focus. Since the integration of baseball, followed shortly after by American football, why are the numbers of African American owners, coaches and managers so very low? What accounts for the absence of African American candidates from seeking front office and managerial roles? Is a conscious decision made by established members of each organization or is this matter a deeper reflection on society? Why does a certain image and persona exist amongst many African American athletes? Sports historians often take a look at sports and make a comparison to society. Beginning in the early 1980’s, historians began looking at the integration of baseball and how it preceded the civil rights movement. The common conclusion was that integration in baseball and other sports was indeed a reflection on American society. As African Americans began to play in sports, a short time later, Jim Crow laws and segregation formally came to an end in the south. Does racism and discrimination end with the elimination of Jim Crow and the onset of the civil rights movement and other instances of race awareness and equality? According to many modern sports historians and sociologists, they do not. This paper will focus on the writings of selected historians and sociologists who examine th...
James Brown was born on May 3, 1933, in South Carolina. He lived a life without parental guidance. His mother left him with his father when he was only 4 years old. James was often left alone while his father traveled to turpentine camps selling tar for a living. James recalls the times he spent alone walking around in the woods looking for doodlebugs, and playing a harmonic his father gave him. During this time alone, he never had anyone around to talk to but himself (Brenchley, 2003).
Jesse Owens, also known as “The Buckeye Bullet,” was known for being one of the greatest track and field, African American runners in the 20th century. Jesse was sick a lot when he was a child, but he still had to work to help his family. When Jesse was 9 years old, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio and found out there was a difference between how he was being treated in Ohio and how he was treated where he lived down south. Jesse attended the Ohio State University and went on to break many
In the book entitled Out of Their League, David Meggyesy describes his life as a football player from high school through his days with the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Born in 1941, Meggyesy was raised in a low-income household in Solon, Ohio. Like many athletes from impoverished backgrounds, he was able to use the game of football to better himself though both a full scholarship to Syracuse University and financial stability with the Cardinals. During his career, however, Meggyesy became increasingly disillusioned with the game of football and how its athletes were subject to tremendous physical and psychological turmoil from those in power—namely the coaches and the NFL team owners. He began to see the game of football from a conflict theorist point of view. This is the belief that sport is an opiate used to benefit those in power through the exploitation of athletes which enables those such as coaches and team owners to maintain their power and privilege in society. (Coakley, 1998) Meggyesy's growing disenchantment with football and adoption of a conflict theorist point of view led him to retire from the Cardinals in 1969.
“We are more visible, but not more valuable”. This famous quote was said by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, one of the most famous black basketball players, symbolized what many black athletes were pursuing when they first got into sports. In today’s world not only are black athletes a part of our sports venue, they are dominating the landscape of some sports such as the NBA which consists of a whopping 80% black athletes. Black athletes continue to revitalize sports in America as some athletes became the face of their sports such as Muhammad Ali in boxing, Jackie Robinson in baseball and Michael Jordan in basketball. Sports came as a form of entertainment for many Americans, but for black athletes it came as a pathway to express who they were and what they believed in. The more they became involved in sports, the more media they were able to attract which enabled them to talk about topics other than sports such as racism, their religions and equality through the civil rights movement. These views and statements made in their interviews and press conferences were the ones that became publicized and more popular amongst the typical white men in America and it played a huge role in changing the way blacks were viewed in American society.
...nterpretation of his dreams, and he was highly interpersonally intelligent due to his charismatic, eccentric character. He knew how to put people at ease, and how to relate to them through his works.
...t orator and rhetor, his ability to integrate emotion into fact and still have facts exist as true and unbiased. As a result of the heavy factual details, his logos in this speech was excellent.
The scholars expounds that Black athletes were commodities on the playing field to help win games and bring in revenue to their respected schools. However, the schools were just as eager and willing to leave their Black players behind and dishonoring the player as a part of the team. Therefore, not compromising the team’s winning and bring in profits for the school. Sadly, Black athletes at predominately White institutions (PWIs) who believed that they were bettering the live of themselves and their families members by going to college and playing collegiate sports to increase their post secondary careers. However, these athletes were only “show ponies” for their schools. Unfortunately, Black athletes had allegiance to their school; however, the school turned their backs on the athletes to protect the profit and notoriety of the school and the programs. Money and respect from White fans and spectators were more important to the PWIs than standing up for the respect of their Black players. Racial bigotry in sports was rampant and it was only going to get worse.
The first African American to play Major League baseball once said, “a life is not important, except in the impact it has on other lives”; this was, of course, Jackie Robinson. Similar to Muhammad Ali, he faced problems head on a...
“It’s not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters,” Paul “Bear” Bryant. Before there were multi-million dollar endorsements and guaranteed spots on reality shows as monetary lures, student-athletes stepped on college playing fields with the love of their sport in their hearts. There was Herschel Walker setting and breaking multiple NCAA records at the University of Georgia in the 1980’s and renewing the south’s love of SEC football. He couldn’t have known that his college career would lead to an equally impressive professional career, so he didn’t focus his energy, his ego, or his time on endorsements or paychecks. That was back in a time when the payment for