Brave captain

It's a discussion we've had many times at the GR office. Who are the righteous athletes? No one can argue with Muhammad Ali or Bruce Lee. Both fought The Man and went on not only to revolutionize their respective fields but also became cultural icons and influenced how people see African Americans and Asians.

The third righteous athlete is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Besides being the NBA's most prolific scorer, only six-time MVP, and originator of the unstoppable Sky Hook, the student of John Wooden, Showtime Laker, and NBA Hall-of-Famer and is also a scholar, author, and activist. Now he's a blogger for the L.A. Times, too, and his posts provide extra argument for his status as righteous. Two recent entries were about his friend, Bruce Lee, and the next President of the United States, Barack Obama.

There are other athletes in this elite class--perhaps Robinson, Koufax, or Clemente--but that's another post.