Connect with us

Sports

10 Most Famous Black Athletes in History

Published

on

Jackie Robinson thegrio.com

In this text, we are going to give attention to 10 individuals whose excellence brought them fame and altered their sports without end.

What sporting achievements do you’ll want to achieve to go down in history?

Notable black athletes make sports history by playing a key role in winning a championship, breaking a record, or being the primary to realize something in their sport. Some athletes use their platforms to make political or social statements or to drive advocacy, which can even help establish an athlete’s legacy.

Famous Black Athletes Who Changed the History of Their Sport

Get to know 10 famous black athletes and their biggest achievements, and you’ll understand why their names are so famous.

Simone Biles

Simone Biles competes in the course of the freestyle exercise on the fourth day of qualifying for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team at Target Center on June 30, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

With 37 Olympic and World Championship medals to her name, Simone Biles is probably the most decorated gymnast in history and, by most accounts, the best gymnast of all time. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Biles became the primary American gymnast to win 4 gold medals in a single Olympics. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the long-lasting black gymnast made headlines again, this time for withdrawing from competition to give attention to her well-being, drawing worldwide attention to the importance of mental health for athletes, for which she is a powerful advocate.

Stephen Curry

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry reacts after his victory over Sabrina Ionescu in the course of the NBA All-Star Weekend, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Son former NBA playerStephen “Steph” Curry has basketball in his blood. Curry, a degree guard for the Golden State Warriors, is one of the crucial famous black American basketball players and probably the greatest shooters in the history of the sport. His long-range shooting skills not only earned him multiple NBA three-point shooting records and other awards. They modified the sport significantly, placing greater emphasis on long-range shooting. He’s also a extremely good golfer, and played a significant role in the revival of the Howard University golf team.

Jackie Robinson

Baseball player Jackie Robinson, thegrio.com, famous black athletes
Jackie Robinson, the primary black man to be signed by a Major League Baseball team, is shown in a post-strike stance in front of the stands. Robinson is wearing the uniform of the Brooklyn Dodgers’ then-affiliate Montreal Royals. (Getty Images)

Jackie Robinson made history when he stepped onto the sphere for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, becoming the primary black man to play in the trendy era of MLB. Robinson was an elite athlete, winning Rookie of the Year honors in his first season. His legacy as a civil rights advocate and athlete earned him the number 42 retired by all MLB teams.

Colin Kaepernick

Colin Kaepernick, thegrio.com, famous black athletes
Colin Kaepernick takes part in a halftime throwdown in the course of the Michigan Spring American Football game at Michigan Stadium on April 2, 2022 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Jaime Crawford/Getty Images)

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick stands out amongst famous black athletes for his resume. His profession highlights include leading his team to the Super Bowl and setting an NFL record for single-game rushing yards by a quarterback. But he’s best known for his actions off the sphere. Kaepernick began kneeling in the course of the national anthem before NFL games to protest police brutality and racial inequality. His activism has not only sparked a movement and brought attention to those issues. It has also earned him Citizen of the Year 2017 in keeping with GQ magazine and the Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Awards.

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali Unveils His New Book, thegrio.com, Famous Black Athletes
American skilled boxer, activist and philanthropist Muhammad Ali (1942–2016) attends a press conference to launch his recent autobiographical book, The Greatest: My Own Story, on March 10, 1976, at The Savoy Hotel in London, United Kingdom. (Photo: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Muhammad Ali is one of the crucial famous black athletes in sports history. His boxing profession began with a bang — a gold medal in the sunshine heavyweight division on the 1960 Olympics — and included several iconic fights, including the “Rumble in the Jungle” with George Foreman and the “Thrilla in Manila” with Joe Frazier. Ali also made headlines for his peace and civil rights activism, even refusing to be drafted into the U.S. military because he opposed the Vietnam War.

Jesse Owens

Jumping Jesse, thegrio.com, famous black athletes
August 15, 1936: American athlete Jesse Owens competes in the long jump in the course of the USA vs. British Empire track and field meet at White City Stadium in west London. (Photo: Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) – Source: Photo Central Press / Getty Images

Jesse Owens was a black track and field athlete and long jumper known for his victories on the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He followed in the footsteps of George Poage, the primary African-American to win a medal on the Olympics, taking home two bronze medals on the 1904 Games in St. Louis. Two many years later, Owens won 4 gold medals, making him probably the most decorated athlete on the Games and a counternarrative to Adolf Hitler’s Aryan supremacist beliefs. Despite his Olympic success, Owens faced racial discrimination in the United States, was not invited to the White House, and struggled to secure sponsorship deals. Still, he persevered and built a fame as a sports and civil rights icon despite the chances.

Florence Griffith Joyner

Florence Griffith Joyner, Flo Jo, thegrio.com, famous black athletes
In this 1988 photo, American sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner of Los Angeles races for a world record in the ladies’s 200-meter Olympic semifinals in Seoul. Once again, the late Joyner’s hallowed women’s sprint records of 10.49 in the 100 and 21.34 in the 200 look like in jeopardy. (Photo by Lennox McLendon/AP, archive)

Florence Griffith Joyner, higher often known as Flo-Jo, is the fastest woman of all time, having set world records in the 100- and 200-meter sprints on the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials and still unbeaten. A task model for African-American female athletes, she won three gold medals and one silver medal on the Olympic Games that very same 12 months. In addition to being a unprecedented runner, Flo-Jo is often known as a mode icon, wearing daring, one-legged racing suits and sporting long, painted nails.

Naomi Osaka

Japan’s Naomi Osaka serves against Italian Lucia Bronzetti during their first-round match on the French Open tennis tournament on the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Naomi Osaka is a Japanese-Haitian tennis player who was born in Japan, raised in the United States, and selected to play for the Japanese Olympic team, which was met with criticism. With 4 Grand Slam singles titles, two US Open titles, and two Australian Open titles, she won her first US Open on the age of just 20, defeating 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams and becoming the primary Asian woman to be ranked No. 1 in the world. Osaka became the primary tennis player to light the Olympic flame on the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, confirming her position because the leading celebrity black female athlete.

Serena Williams

Tennis star Serena Williams holds a tennis ball while preparing for a serve, thegrio.com, famous black athletes
Serena Williams of the United States serves against Nuria Parrizas Diaz of Spain in the course of the National Bank Open tournament, a part of the Hologic WTA Tour, at Sobeys Stadium on August 8, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

Serena Williams is widely considered one among the best female athletes of all time. The retired tennis player has 23 Grand Slam singles titles to her name, probably the most in the Open era and the second most in history. She can be the one player to win a profession Golden Slam — winning all 4 Grand Slam tournaments and an Olympic gold medal — in each singles and doubles. Since retiring from the sport, Williams has develop into an entrepreneur, dressmaker and philanthropist, often involved in education and community development.

Coconut gauff

Olympic Games Paris 2024 - Announcements
PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 24: Coco Gauff of Team USA trains during a tennis training session ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Roland Garros on July 24, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) – Source: Photo Clive Brunskill / Getty Images

Young tennis player Coco Gauff made her Olympic debut in Paris after missing the 2020 Tokyo Games resulting from illness. She defeated Venus Williams in her Wimbledon debut at just 15 years old. With seven singles titles under her belt, including the 2023 US Open, and nine doubles titles by the age of 20, Gauff is one among our rising stars amongst black athletes.

Stay up up to now with history and the most recent sports news

The above list is just the tip of the iceberg in relation to recognizing the best black athletes in history. There are many other famous black athletes who dominate their sports. Stay up up to now with the most recent sports news, and who knows? You might witness one other black pioneer set a record or set a brand new standard in their sport.

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Andscape Roundtable: What Five-Star Recruit Julian Lewis’ Commitment Means to Colorado, Deion Sanders

Published

on

By

Coaches Deion Sanders and Colorado took on a crucial project within the 2025 class on Thursday as five-star point guard Julian Lewis of Carrollton, Georgia, committed to the Buffaloes. Andscape columnist William C. Rhoden, JJT Media Group president Jean-Jacques Taylor and Andscape digital leader Erik Horne discuss what Lewis’ involvement means for Sanders’ future, the Colorado agenda, the NIL deal and more.

This article was originally published on : andscape.com
Continue Reading

Sports

Michael Jordan invests in the Courtside Ventures VC fund

Published

on

By

Micheal Jordan, Brightness In Black,storyCorp, Jordan Bran


After adding greater than $2 billion to his personal fortune after selling the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, basketball legend Michael Jordan put a few of his money right into a sports fund to boost $100 million.

According to Sportico, Jordan does investing in the Courtside Ventures enterprise capital fund, which focuses on sports, lifestyle and gaming.

The media received a text message from certainly one of Courtside Ventures’ business partners, Curtis Polk, confirming the details about Jordan’s investment. The amount he invested was not disclosed.

Polk is Jordan’s business partner and co-owner of the NASCAR 23XI Racing team.

Company website lists The Athletic, 100 Thieves and Jackpot.com as a part of its portfolio. According to Courtside Ventures’ LinkedIn profile, the company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in New York.

The partners are Deepen Parikh, Vasu Kulkarni and Kai Bond. The group’s advisors include former NFL player Larry Fitzgerald and former DraftKings executive Sean Hurley.

In June, the company submitted approx Form D with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission outlining Courtside Ventures’ intentions to boost $100 million in its fourth round of funding. A complete of $190 million was raised in the first three rounds.

Jordan plays the role of an influence player. According to , he recently became the owner of a brand new Gulfstream G650ER private jet, useful for roughly $65 million.

Jordan has turn out to be an astute businessman since he retired from basketball and commenced investing in many ventures that increase his profits.

He and Polk, together with their 23XI Racing partner, racer Denny Hamlin, recently filed an antitrust lawsuit with one other automotive owner, Front Row Motorsports, against NASCAR and CEO Jim France, alleging that it engaged in anticompetitive practices to forestall fair competition on the sports market.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
Continue Reading

Sports

Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has the experience and influence of being an NFL coach

Published

on

By

As the next NFL recruiting cycle begins, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is once more a number one head coaching candidate. And rightly so.

Over the course of three seasons leading an impressive Lions offense that’s amongst the best and fun to look at in the league, Johnson has established himself as an astute X’s and O’s man. It’s easy to see why franchises trying to fill top coaching positions have been courting him over the last two cycles.

Perhaps franchise owners must also take an extended take a look at Johnson’s defensive counterpart, as Lions defensive quarterback Aaron Glenn is value far more attention. As it seems, Detroit coach Dan Campbell made a fantastic move by hiring each of his top lieutenants.

Although Glenn didn’t achieve his Detroit colleague’s rock star status during interviews, he played a serious role in the band’s impressive turnaround under Campbell. This season, Glenn has received high praise from around the league for keeping the Lions defense healthy, which lost several key players to injury, including star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson for the remainder of the season in Week 6.

Campbell praises Glenn for his work ethic and willingness, traits Campbell has admired in his friend since their days as NFL teammates and their time together as an assistant coach with the New Orleans Saints. What sets Glenn aside from many coaches is the way he runs, Campbell says, and any team owner can be sensible to present Glenn his own shop to run.

As the NFC North’s top team prepares for Sunday’s road game against the Indianapolis Colts, Glenn, 52, is making all the right moves on a defense shorthanded. While injuries are a component of life in skilled sports’ most dangerous workplace, some losses are far more difficult to beat than others.

In a 47-9 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, Hutchinson suffered two broken bones in his left leg and underwent season-ending surgery. The Pro Bowler entered the game leading the NFL in sacks, quarterback hits and pressures. The Lions were missing Marcus Davenport, who suffered a season-ending injury in Week 3.

Then, during a 52-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 11, linebacker Alex Anzalone suffered a broken forearm. He is predicted to be sidelined for a maximum of eight weeks. Detroit decided to step up its passing game by acquiring linebacker Za’Darius Smith in a trade with the Cleveland Browns, but it surely’s as much as Glenn to shoulder the defensive load and find latest ways to best utilize his remaining energetic players.

The evidence shows that Glenn performed well under duress.

Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn watches from the sidelines during a Nov. 17 game at Ford Field in Detroit.

Steven King/Sportswire Icon

Against Detroit, opponents rating an average of 17.7 points and 94.8 rushing yards, which supplies the team fifth place in the league in each categories. The Lions (9-1) lead the Philadelphia Eagles by one game in the race for the top overall seed in the NFC playoffs, and Glenn is earning rave reviews for his contributions to their success.

The evidence of Glenn’s coaching acumen is each indisputable and overwhelming, said Troy Vincent, the NFL’s vp of football operations.

“Throughout Aaron’s NFL career and now in his current position as the Lions’ defensive coordinator, he has demonstrated extraordinary leadership, development and creativity,” Vincent wrote to Andscape in a text message Wednesday. “There is no denying his tremendous coaching ability, as evidenced by the Lions’ vastly improved defense.”

Since he and Glenn had briefly been teammates with the Dallas Cowboys, Campbell believed Glenn had what it took to in the future change into a fantastic coach.

Taken twelfth overall in the 1994 NFL Draft, Glenn had a 15-year profession with the Jets, Houston Texans, Cowboys, Jaguars and Saints. The three-time Pro Bowl running back then moved on to coaching and scouting, eventually working his way as much as the position of director of the Saints’ secondary under then-coach Sean Payton. Campbell coached the Saints on tight ends, and the Texas A&M graduates formed a bond.

After Campbell became Detroit’s coach in 2021, Glenn followed him to run the team’s defense. Make no mistake, hiring Glenn was one of Campbell’s most significant moves in his efforts to show around the troubled Lions.

In the 2008-09 season, the Lions went 0-16. Before the arrival of Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes, the Lions last won the league title in the 1993-94 season. Detroit hasn’t won a playoff game since the 1991-92 season. Last season, the Lions achieved each feats en path to the NFC Championship Game.

To their credit, the Lions have picked up on offense quicker than defense (they lead the league in scoring at 33.6 points per game), which contributed to Johnson being more wanted to potentially fill coaching vacancies than Glenn. However, Glenn has been interviewing for the last three cycles and Campbell is confident that Glenn is prepared to guide the entire team.

“He has great vision to put together a plan,” Campbell told reporters in Detroit. “He understands football thoroughly. And if you start talking about his leadership, he’s one of those guys, he’s special. He is special. He has.

“His ability to communicate, relate, push, grind, love and demand – he has it all. He is an excellent speaker, he is an outstanding teacher. … That’s why I say I’m lucky to have him working with me.”

For Glenn, nothing is more essential than all the time setting the right example.

“I try to do everything I can to focus on the players,” Glenn said. “I’m trying to do everything I can to focus on the team and get the most out of… my staff to make sure we’re on track in terms of playing good defense. Everyone is different. And that makes it nice to be able to take advantage of each player’s unique characteristics and put them in the right positions (to be successful).”

Glenn’s coaching philosophy is easy: be authentic and make a positive impact on those around you.

Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn reacts during the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Ford Field in Detroit on November 17.

Junfu Han Network/USA TODAY via Imagn Images

“The most important thing is to be yourself,” Glenn said. “Players know a fake once they see one. And if you attempt to cheat this business, you’re going to get kicked out of it in a short time because then the respect factor disappears.

“For me, leadership comes down to one word –… How do you influence players? What influence do you have on coaches? Leadership isn’t about me giving pathetic speeches. They’ve heard this before. That’s how I influence these guys.”

The buzz around the league is that while Glenn has been considered for the head coaching position in previous cycles, he’s well-positioned to be a finalist for the position on this one. He can be one of the strongest candidates, said Rod Graves, leader of a gaggle that advises the NFL on diversity, equity and inclusion in the hiring process.

“Aaron has proven to be one of the best coaches in the NFL,” Graves, executive director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, wrote to Andscape in a text message. “He joined the league’s elite as an excellent strategist.

“The Detroit Lions have developed an attitude of toughness, physicality and attention to detail. Aaron is a big reason for this. He trains like he plays.”

“There is an expectation that Aaron will undoubtedly be involved when head coaching positions become available. Maybe he will be the beginning of Coach Campbell’s tree,” Vincent wrote in a text message.

Even if Johnson continues to be the first to branch out on his own, Glenn definitely seems capable of rising higher. It’s only a matter of whether team owners pay more attention to others who’re improving.

Jason Reid is a senior NFL author at Andscape. He likes watching sports, especially any matches through which his son and daughter participate.

This article was originally published on : andscape.com
Continue Reading
Advertisement

OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe Us To Receive Our Latest News Directly In Your Inbox!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Trending