Emmitt Smith is probably not the first athlete people associate with the struggles of black Americans. He was joined by Lou (now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) Alcindor, Bill Russell, Jim Brown, and others who supported Muhammad Ali, who chose not to serve in the U.S. military after being drafted into the Vietnam War. He did not attend the press conference. The main reason for that is that Ali was only one year old when his boxing license was reinstated in 1970.
Mr Smith made his voice for justice heard loud and clear on social media earlier this week. When the University of Florida announced that Abolish all diversity, equity, and inclusion At the ministry, he harshly reprimanded his alma mater and home state.
The leading rusher in NFL history was born in Pensacola, Florida, on May 15, 1969, 13 months after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the passage of the Fair Housing Act. In 1974, when Smith was still in elementary school, a racist incident occurred in Pensacola. written in the new york times.
Wendell Blackwell was shot and killed by Escambia County deputies. Authorities said Blackwell was in possession of a handgun. However, Reverend HK Matthews claimed that Blackwell was shot dead at a distance of three feet. In 1975, protests led by Matthews demanding justice for Blackwell's murder led to his arrest. Matthews was ultimately sentenced to 60 days in prison and five years of hard labor in Lake Butler for „unlawful assembly.“Mr. Matthews His sentence was commuted after 63 days.and was pardoned in 1980.
Around the time the killing was in the news, the New York Times published a quote recorded by a St. Petersburg Times reporter from Escambia County Sergeant James Edison.
„Pick up a club and hit *****. Now, I don't want to sound like a racist, but I like black people. In fact, I want the dogs to play. I would like to have two in my backyard. N****** is better than milk bone.”
Edison tried to deny the words until the recording was shown to his face. He will continue to tender his resignation. That's the world Emmitt Smith was born into. He may not have been old enough to become Blackwell and his lifelong friends, but the tension within the community was certainly evident.
Smith would go on to set NFL rushing records as an adult, mostly with a smile on his face. Although his life was great to him, he felt it was important to harshly criticize Jerry Jones' position. I was against dallas cowboys Athletes kneel during the national anthem. Now in 2024, Smith has publicly expressed his disappointment that his alma mater and home state are opposed to DEI.
While it's easy for some to ignore Smith, for others his statements confirm ideas they already had in their heads. What everyone should keep in mind is that the 54-year-old NFL's all-time leading rusher was born and raised in his First Amendment right to protest what he believed was a racially motivated murder. The minister was imprisoned for exercising this.