Real Sports Heroes

[DemocratSinceBirth]

Celebrity is neutral. It is neither good or bad. What one does with their celebrity is what defines them. To me Bill Russell, Muhammad Ali, Martina Navratilova and Jackie Robinson were real sports heroes.

Jackie Robinson broke the color line in baseball and it was not easy for Jackie because he was a strong, tough, proud man who had to resist the urge to respond violently to the racist taunts hurled at him.


With quiet dignity Bill Russell endured what was then a racist Boston where African Americans were consigned to certain parts of the city and all his fame and wealth could not change that.


Muhammad Ali risked his career, his livelihood, and his freedom when he refused induction into the armed forces during the Viet Nam War. He's treated as a saintly figure now but at the time he was loathed by a large segment of the nation.


Martina Navratilova risked her fame and fortune when she refused to remain in the closet.

These are real heroes. They used their celebrity which was earned from a single minded focus on their craft in the service of a larger good.