These days, we’re more likely to see professional athletes on products than protest lines. But it wasn’t always this way. In the 1960s, sports stars were often as famous for what they believed as for their home runs.
Back then, many athletes spoke out about civil rights. Muhammad Ali was stripped of his heavyweight title and threatened with imprisonment for refusing to fight in Vietnam, on the grounds of racial discrimination.
By the 1970s, the issue of the day was women’s rights. Tennis player Billie Jean King used her fame on the court to fight for equal opportunities for female athletes.
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