The legendary NFL great and powerful civil rights activist Jim Brown has passed away at the age of 87.
His wife, Monique Brown, made a statement about his passing, saying,
“It is with profound sadness that I announce the passing of my husband, Jim Brown. He passed away peacefully last night at our LA home. To the world he was an activist, actor and football star. To our family, he was a loving and wonderful husband, father and grandfather. Our hearts are broken.”
It was learned that he hadn’t been doing very well in recent days and had been visited by close friends. With three NFL MVP awards, and being a first-round pick in 1957, Jim Brown was force to be reckoned with not only on the field, but also off it. He went on to star as an actor in films like Any Given Sunday and The Dirty Dozen. He also was a powerful proponent in pushing the civil rights agenda forward, by using his voice and platform to advance causes surrounding Black Americans.
He also organized the Cleveland Summit, which was held in June 1967, to support Muhammad Ali, when he made the decision not to serve in the Vietnam War. Top Black athletes attended including Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was known as Lew Alcindor at the time.
As the Cleveland Brown’s best player of all-time, his number, 32, was retired, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971. Following, in 1995, Brown was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, as well as the Lacrosse Hall of Fame for his time at Syracuse.
May the great Jim Brown rest in peace.
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