The Evolution of African American Athletes

Writer: Keion Cage

In the sports industry, African American athletes are just like palm trees in the midst of a storm. Palm trees are able to survive storms due to their ability to bend up to 50 degrees in any direction with their heavy base. History shows how African American athletes were able to evolve and overcome obstacles in the sports world just like palm trees.

During the era of segregation, African Americans were considered unintelligent and not talented enough to compete in white professional leagues. So, African Americans did what they do best, and created their own league.

In 1920, the Negro National League was founded by Andrew “Rube” Foster and seven other owners. Foster was a former African American player from Calvert, Texas who started his professional career as a member of the Waco Yellow Jackets, an Independent African American Team in 1897. The National Negro League was one of several major leagues that was created during segregation.

There is an old adage that iron sharpens iron, in fact which still holds true today. The Negro League created a competition that would be mirrored by no other. This forced the scouts from other professional leagues to look at African American athletes more in depth. Hall of fame athletes such as Jackie Robinson and Earl Lloyd broke the color barrier in both Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Basketball Association (NBA).

“When I was in school in the 1950s and 1960s, it was separated like day and night,” said my great uncle, Freddie Milons, who was a three-sport athlete in high school. Blacks and whites never touched the same field nor court. We had to be twice as better than our counterparts to even get an opportunity. When we saw Jackie Robinson, it meant everything to us because the door was finally open to us, said Milons.”

Muhammad Ali was an athlete that not only broke barriers in his professional career as a boxer, but used his platform to speak upon the social injustices of his time. This influenced several athletes such as NBA and NFL Hall of Famers, Bill Russell and Jim Brown, to speak up along with Ali. This was momentous, because African Americans went from fighting for opportunities to compete in professional leagues to using the same leagues’ platforms to be a voice for their very own communities.

Ali, Brown, and Russell were African American athletes who became the face of their leagues. African American athletes were put on the watchlist, but their talent and platform were far too great for leagues to continue to control. American people began to notice the influence that African American athletes held and understood what they could achieve when they came together in unity.

“[Ali, Brown, and Russell] are some of the greatest athletes ever,” said Milons. “But what they did outside of their sports for the African American communities was far greater.”

Their actions paved the way for athletes like Michael Jordan, Ken Griffey Jr., and Jerry Rice to take the baton and globalize what are considered the most prestigious leagues of today. Jordan, Griffey, and Rice were generational talents that the world had never seen. This was a cultural change in America, because these African American athletes played the game with a certain type of swagger and style that everyone across the world tried to mimic.

“Jordan had every kid across the whole world trying to be like him,” said Milons. “Kids were even trying to stick their tongue out and jump like him. My kids wanted to be like him.”

Today, leagues strive for diversity in all levels and African American athletes are heavily represented throughout the sports industry. This diversity is largely due to the advancement of technology and social media which allows kids everywhere see players like NBA superstar LeBron James.

James is seen as one of the most iconic athletes and a global hero to generations across the world. James has become more than just an athlete to America, because he is seen as a business, community, and global leader. James continues to dominate on the court but has also established multiple businesses, even a public-school in his hometown, Akron, Ohio, for at risk kids.

“LeBron James is one of the most influential athletes ever,” said Milons. “[James’] school I Promise is one of the most amazing things that has ever been done by an athlete. It just shows how much things have changed.”

Athletes like LeBron James are the prime example of how the sports industry has evolved. African American athletes went from fighting for opportunities to be in these leagues to become the face of their respected leagues and iconic heroes that they are today.

This evolution goes beyond the professional leagues, because it provides kids a route to getting a higher education through sports scholarships. In my uncle’s early days, African American athletes only went to underfunded Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Today, colleges are looking everywhere for talent no matter their race or ethnicity.

“When I was playing, there weren't any white schools looking at any blacks kids no matter how talented we were. We most definitely had the talent, but they went to black schools. When my kids were growing up, they had scouts from everywhere coming to my house, said Milons.”

Freddie Milons is the father of eight kids that played different types of sports on all levels from little league to the National Football League (NFL). “I had a house full of athletes and was grateful that they got full scholarships from playing sports, because I would not have been able to pay for all of them to go to school, said Milons.” Several of his kids that continued to play sport beyond high school includes Cynthia Milons (basketball at Mississippi College), Anita Milons Johnson (basketball - Ole Miss), Freddie Milons, Jr. (football - University of Alabama and NFL), Jereme Milons (basketball - Jefferson Davis Community College and Minor League Baseball), and Tee Milons (football – Mississippi State University).

Sports have opened many doors and changed the lives of many African American athletes today. The legendary boxer Muhammad Ali told the world that, “A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.” Evolving is a part of the process to being successful. African American athletes were the palm trees in the midst of storms during segregation. History has shown us that when African American athletes stay strong to their base in unity, they might have to bend a little to get through obstacles, but they won’t break.

The sports industry is constantly growing which is why it is significant that African American athletes continue to open doors for others that come after them. African American athletes have evolved a lot from the time my great uncle played sports to now, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us in order to educate the upcoming African American athletes and pass the torch on to them.