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Two of this earths most potent, humanitarian stars :
MLBdays
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I came across this photo of these two~ I would add Roberto Clemente to this group..... men who were not only brilliant, one of a kind sportsmen but splendid human beings offering a benevolent spiritual wisdom that affected others around them in a very positive, unpretentious way...... WHO ELSE would add to this small group? IT doesn't have to be an athlete...... its a unique group.... Not all great athletes are beloved like these 3 were. I'd love to hear your thoughts....
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Ali was a draft dodger.
JJ Watt does a lot of good things.
Brees flies under that radar.
The Supreme Court didn't agree.
I grew up in the era, was a bit young to be involved in Viet Nam (graduated HS in 1975).
This was a big part of my coming of age. I still don't understand what we were doing over there and why so many young men had to die.
There was a LOT of criticism of Ali at the time. If you want to call him a "draft dodger" I guess that could be technically correct.
He was originally excluded from the draft and then without retesting was included. That seems odd.
He also was consistent with his religious reasons for refusal.
To harbor ill will towards those who were outspoken against this "war" seems wrong to me.
I was going to nominate Harmon Killebrew to the list of people who were great humanitarians. He was a great proponent of Hospice Care.
He was a wonderful person as well.
Not true at all.
Although not an athlete, Dolly Parton is right up there. She gave millions to the people in TN when so many were homeless due to the fire several years ago. She gave them all a place to stay and I believed helped them rebuild.
Ali was a coward and ducked when called to serve his country.
Pat Tillman is my choice.
There are people in the highest offices in America who got out off serving. Just need a rich Dad and a cooperative family doctor.
I hold zero animosity towards Ali/ Clay.
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
I remember Reggie White being very community conscious.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
wasnt Ali considered a conscientious observer? Much like the Amish etc? not sure why he went to jail
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Did you know anyone that was killed or maimed by the Viet Cong? Did you have a draft lottery number?
For every draft dodger, someone else had to step in and take their place. Some never returned, some lost limbs.
Hell--good for the Natives
""“I am not allowed to work in America and I’m not allowed to leave America,” Muhammad Ali said in February 1968, at the start of his first full year of exile from boxing. “I’m just about broke.”
Married a year with his first child on the way, Ali was so desperate his manager tried to arrange a bout in Arizona on an Indian reservation – outside the reach of state boxing commissions that wouldn’t let him fight. But the Pima tribe rejected the proposal, saying it would defile the memory of Indian veterans who’d fought for their country.""
The U.S. government killed all those boys.
This wasn't WWII.
To all of them R.I.P.
I was a fan of 4 time Boston marathon champ Bill Rodgers. I once spotted him on a training run and he welcomed me to join (until my lungs gave out).
He is no hero of mine though as he was a CO during Viet Nam. Rather than flee to Canada as many objectors did, he worked in a hospital instead of crawling through a malaria infested jungle.
This is a thread about those that have excelled off the venue of competition. I will not nominate him here for the same reason that Clay should be excluded.
I understand.
My Father served in Vietnam and has survivors guilt, it was a war that was a tragic waste of a generation of men. I always look at Ali as someone that could have done something more than avoid it, chances are he would have been out of the jungle and out of harms way but could have contributed something. Looking at all the ball players that served in some fashion during WW2 and Korea I feel that it’s a slight on his legacy.
i know this is going to send a lot of you into a tizzy, but i remember reading that LeBron's foundation spent over $40 mil to send 1,100 students from Akron to college for free
If that’s true then he deserves some kudos regardless of his big mouth
That is a very nice gesture from LeBaby
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I think I would include these three:
I don’t think even with a time machine you could find someone who had a bad word to say about Stan Musial. One of the better hitters in history and one of the true gentlemen of sport.
Larwrence ‘Yogi’ Berra is literally still giving back, posthumously. Montclair State University is going to be funded and has received considerable funding already from the foundation established in his and his wife Carmen’s name. In addition to all the personality and MVP level play, the man had a heart of gold and a pretty good stack of it too.
I hate being the one to bring him up (as a diehard Giant fan) but there’s a reason Roger Staubach is referred to as Captain America and it’s stuck very well and not all football related.
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Totally agree on all 3.
Joe Delaney.
On his way to stardom for the K.C. Chiefs.
In the off season I believe after his second year in the NFL, jumped into a pond to try to rescue
three kids who were drowning. Delaney could not swim. He gave his life trying to save those kids.
In the course of every human endeavor since the dawn of time the risk of human error has always been a factor. Including but not limited to field goals, 4th down attempts, or multiple paragraph ramblings on a sports forum authored by someone who shall remain anonymous.
I did not know this.....that is a true hero!