Jim Brown a catalyst for social change

During his day he was a 6-foot-2 230 pound steam roller. He has been called the greatest football player of all time and still holds records for yards per attempt and yards per game. But, over the last 50 years, Jim Brown has also been a lightning rod for social change. His recent comments about Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan have Brown in the spotlight once again. In an interview with HBO's Bryant Gumbel, he said this about Woods, "This cat is a mama-jama, he is a killer. He'll run over you, he'll kick your ass, but as an individual for social change, or any of that kind of [stuff]...terrible, terrible, because he can get away with teaching kids to play golf, and that's his contribution. And in the real world, man, I can't teach no kids to play golf and that's my contribution, if I got that kind of power."

Michael Jordan was inducted into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame this year and he was also not spared criticism from Brown. Brown once asked him to endorse a Democratic politician. Jordan politely refused, saying, "I'm sorry, but Republicans buy Nike shoes, too."

In addition, Brown has come out against company ad slogans such as Nike's "Be like Mike" campaign. In a speech at Williams College less than a month ago, he said, "Ever since that ad came out all of the black kids want to play basketball. I don't want 100,000 basketball players. I want college presidents and Williams College graduates."

When Brown was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 1956, the atmosphere in America was much different than it is now. Racism and inequality was very much a factor in Brown's heyday. This is probably why he chooses to speak his mind. In an interview with the Syracuse Herald Journal, he said, "The modern black athletes are the most embarrassing collection of individuals I've ever seen."

Wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, Brown sat down with journalist Graham Bensinger and clarified this statement. "There's too much buffoonery, the things we fought to get away from, now guys are voluntarily playing the yes-boss slave, yeah, it's embarrassing to me."

With statements like that, it's a sure bet Brown doesn't think Chad Ochocinco's touchdown celebrations are funny.

Brown's accomplishments don't have to be accompanied by touchdown celebrations. He doesn't endorse the now prevalent look-at-me attitude. But, when he took the field, Brown was still great.

In nine NFL seasons he made the Pro Bowl eight times and was a three-time league MVP. Before that, he was an All-American in both football and lacrosse for Syracuse University. In 1967, he shocked the sports world when he retired at the age of 29. He left football as the league's all-time rushing leader. His reasoning for retiring was simple, he didn't want to endure the punishment and possibility of breaking his legs.

"People always say to me they wanted me to play three more years," he said. "I always said to them, 'Why? So I can get two broken legs, become second string and regress to a point where you guys start to pity me? Is that when I'm supposed to retire?'"

After football, Brown signed a three-movie deal with Paramount pictures. He starred in the 1967 war movie "The Dirty Dozen" as well as numerous other features.

Brown's social activism in black and underprivileged communities sets him apart from today's athletes who hide behind their millions and endorsement contracts. Brown, on the other hand, counsels inmates and youth affected by gang violence.

In 1988, he founded the Amer-I-Can Program, a life management skills organization operating in inner cities and prisons.

Boxing great Muhammad Ali was a good friend of Brown's. The two would routinely walk the streets in the 1960s and 1970s just talking with people in the community. They didn't value money like today's athletes and didn't even talk about it as hip-hop artists do. No, they simply walked and talked with common folk, at barber shops and restaurants. They were actually part of the community, rather than a symbol for jealousy and narcissism.

It is easy to see why there is much contempt from the sporting legend. Today's top athletes value everything the greats from Brown's era didn't. They don't fight for change and equality, they fight for endorsements. And, for the most part, they avoid ghetto communities and politics.

They also seem to constantly promote themselves, unlike Brown.

"I don't make claims of greatness with football or activism, I just am who I am, and I'm completely satisfied with that."

There might be little hope in finding another athlete like Brown or Ali who actually fights for social change. Columnist Jason Whitlock wrote about Brown earlier this summer. In an editorial for Fox Sports, he wrote: "Perhaps one day there will be a new Jim Brown. I doubt it will happen in my lifetime. I've been waiting 40 years for the next Martin Luther King Jr. The lesson is an old one: Jim Brown and everyone else just need to continue being the change they want to see. It's the best we can do."

Basketball great Charles Barkley once sparked outrage by saying, "I am not a role model." With a proper perspective, you can see his point. What Barkley really meant was young people should be looking up to real heroes like teachers and doctors.

Recently, current basketball superstar Lebron James made another startling statement.

"I want to become the first billionaire athlete," he said.

Amazingly, this received very little publicity compared with Barkley's statement. This might be because we have become conditioned to think James' goals are completely acceptable.

Maybe one day James will realize that money and athletic greatness will never buy the respect obtained by a legend like Jim Brown.