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The Pioneers: Two Black women whose legacies of sports activism live on

Wyomia Tyus stands on the podium after winning gold in the 100m at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. (Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images)

Before Colin Kaepernick took a knee, and even before Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists on the Olympic podium, Rose Robinson refused to stand during the national anthem in 1959. Nine years later, Wyomia Tyus wore dark shorts in a protest for human rights at the 1968 Olympics.

Just Women’s Sports is celebrating Black History Month by highlighting the achievements of African-American women who not only excelled in their sport, but also changed the landscape of society. Male athletes are often remembered for historical and contemporary acts of activism, yet there is a long history of Black women taking a stand and using their platform for political and ideological protest.

While we remember iconic firsts — Black women who broke the color barrier — as symbolic acts that prompted societal change (for example, Althea Gibson, the first African-American to win a Grand Slam, and Wilma Rudolph, the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympiad), the stories of two courageous women who engaged in remarkable displays of activism have largely been forgotten.

Rose Robinson’s life of activism

Born in Chicago in 1925, high jumper Eroseanna “Rose” Robinson rose to prominence in the 1950s after achieving success on the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) track circuit. Upon winning the 1958 AAU National Championship she was named to the U.S. Women’s Track and Field team.

Shortly thereafter, her predominantly Black team was invited to compete in the Soviet Union at a State Department track meet during the height of the Cold War. Robinson refused to attend, telling Jet Magazine: “I don’t want to be used as a political pawn.”

Robinson’s public refusal to promote U.S. foreign policy came at a time when Black athletes, musicians and other notable figures were paraded around the globe to counter the image Jim Crow cast on America.

This was not the first time Robinson had challenged injustice. As a leader in her local chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), Robinson led skate-ins throughout the 1950s to desegregate a popular roller skating rink in Cleveland.

In the summer of 1959, less than a year after she rejected the invitation to compete in Russia, Robinson attended the Pan American Games, where more than 2,000 athletes from 24 different nations came together to compete. When “The Star-Spangled Banner” was played at the opening ceremony, the crowd inside Soldier Field rose to their feet, but Rose Robinson defiantly remained in her seat.

Robinson is considered to be the first prominent American athlete to use such a tactic.

Her protest drew the attention of the media, as well as the federal government. Six months later, Robinson was arrested on charges of tax evasion. At her hearing, Robinson refused to pay her taxes due to her objection to American military practices.

“I have not entered my tax return for 1954-1958 because I know a large part of it goes to armaments,” she told Jet Magazine at the time. “The U.S. government is very active in atom bombs and fallout, which is destructive rather than constructive. If I pay income tax, I am participating in that destruction.”

Robinson was sentenced to a year and a day in jail over the amount of $386.

Imprisonment did not stop Robinson’s activism. While in jail, she staged a hunger strike, refusing all food and drink for three months. Robinson became so weak that officials had to carry her to court for her hearing. The judge offered to commute her sentence if she paid the fine, but still, Robinson refused to support the U.S. war machine.

Her protest drew national attention leading to Robinson’s early release, but the hunger strike weakened her body so much that her track career was effectively over. Robinson continued with her activism until she died in 1976.

Wyomia Tyus: A woman long overlooked

When Carl Lewis won his second consecutive gold medal in the 100m at the 1988 Olympics, he was celebrated as the first person to accomplish such a feat — 20 years after Wyomia Tyus had actually done it first.

In the summer of 1968, Wyomia Tyus set out to defend her 100m title at the Olympics in Mexico City. Tyus ran an 11.08, set a world record and became the first athlete, male or female, to win back-to-back 100m titles.

Tyus, the daughter of sharecroppers, ran her history-making race in dark blue shorts — the closest she could find to black — as opposed to the team-issued white shorts.

Two days before Tommie Smith and Jon Carlos raised their black-gloved fists in what would become an iconic image, Tyus protested, though news outlets did not make note of what she did. Tyus, who grew up in Jim Crow Georgia, was taking a stand against the treatment of Black people in America.

“The shorts were at the forefront of my whole being to bring attention to human rights, whether anybody picked that up or not,” Tyus told the New York Times last year while reflecting on her gesture.

Prior to the Olympics, the Olympic Project For Human Rights held meetings to discuss ways athletes could take a stand. Women, however, were not invited.

Thus, Tyus fashioned her own protest without telling anyone. She wore her dark shorts again in the 4x100m final. When she won, she briefly raised her fist on the victory podium and then dedicated her medal to Smith and Carlos, who were barred from the Olympics after their show of defiance.

It was until her memoir, “Tigerbelle,” was published in 2018 that the public became aware of Tyus’ long and courageous history of activism.

Mariah Lee is a professional athlete and freelance writer who specializes in the intersection of race and sports. She holds a B.A. from Stanford University and a M.S. from the Wake Forest School of Business. Follow her on Instagram @merdashewrote.

Christen Press back training with Angel City FC

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Christen Press #23 of Angel City FC waves to fans following a game between the Portland Thorns and Angel City FC at BMO Stadium on October 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)

Christen Press continues to inch her way back to a return, having returned to training with her club team Angel City. 

Angel City FC coach Becki Tweed said on Wednesday that Press is back with the team full-time as she continues to make her way back from an ACL injury. While she’s still working on rehab, her being back with the team gives staff a better picture of her progress. 

"Christen [Press] is back with us full time which is amazing,” she said. “Having her in and around the team every day, continuing to work hard on rehab ... she's in a space where being in with the team is really important to her and her progression as well.”

The status update comes days after Press posted videos to social media that featured her doing lateral movement in cleats on grass. 

“Look out world she’s on the move !” Press captioned it. 

Press has been sidelined with an ACL injury since 2022, which caused her to miss the 2023 World Cup. She’s since had four separate surgeries to help repair her ACL.

Press told The Athletic a month ago that she’s been “relentless” in her optimism with her recovery despite it being a “slow process.”

“I have a bit of relentless optimism,” she told The Athletic. “I never, ever doubted that I would make it back on any of the timelines I’ve been on."

"Every single time I’ve heard, ‘You have to have surgery,’ I’m completely shocked,” she said. “When somebody asks me how it’s going, I’m like, ‘It’s going great. And it was going great every time. So I don’t know what to tell you anymore!’”

Sophia Smith re-signs with Portland on record deal

(Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports)

Sophia Smith is now the NWSL’s highest-paid player. 

The Portland Thorns announced on Wednesday that they have signed Smith to a new contract through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, the team did reveal that Smith is now the highest-paid player in the league on an annual basis.

It’s the latest in what has been a series of record-breaking contracts in the NWSL offseason. 

Chicago Red Stars forward Mallory Swanson, Bay FC forward Racheal Kundananji, and Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda all signed multi-year deals worth between $2 million and $2.5 million in total. While Smith’s contract is shorter and not worth as much over the long-term, the annual worth is higher. 

“We are over the moon to have Soph commit again to the Thorns. She is a proven, world-class talent and one that we are excited to have contribute to the team’s continued success,” said head coach Mike Norris in a statement. “We look forward to working with her in a Thorns jersey as she continues to shine as one of the top strikers in the world.”

In just four seasons in the NWSL, Smith has led the Thorns to five trophies – including the 2022 NWSL championship – while winning league and championship MVP in 2022. In 61 appearances with Portland, she has 34 goals – including a brace to start this season against Kansas City. 

She’s also a member of the USWNT, having scored 16 goals in 44 international appearances.  Set to become a free agent at the end of this season, she told ESPN she “thought of all the options” but ultimately Portland felt like the right decision.

"There is no place like Portland," Smith said in a small roundtable interview that included ESPN. "I don't believe there's an environment like Portland to play in and it's a city that's so special to me and a city that I feel like I've grown up in almost and become who I am."

She also told ESPN that the team’s new ownership “changes everything.” The club is now led by the Bhathal family, who bought the club after Merritt Paulson was forced to sell it following his part in the NWSL’s abuse scandal. 

"Since I've been here there has been a lot of things going on with this club -- a lot of not-great things going on with this club -- and I have just been waiting for some stability and some reassurance that this club is headed in the right direction, and the Bhathal family coming in is doing exactly that, if not more,” Smith said. 

"Their vision for this club is so exciting, and you can just tell how passionate they are about making this what it should be and continuing to push the standard in women's soccer globally.”

Caitlin Clark offered $5 million to compete in Ice Cube’s league

IOWA CITY, IOWA- MARCH 25: Guard Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates as time runs out in the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during their second round match-up in the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball Championship at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 25, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark has been offered $5 million to play in Ice Cube's Big3 league, he confirmed on social media Wednesday after the offer leaked.

"We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship," Ice Cube wrote on social media. "But I won't deny what's now already out there: BIG3 made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn't we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3."

While there has yet to be a women's player in the league, both Nancy Lieberman and Lisa Leslie have been part of the league as coaches and won championships.

"The skeptics laughed when we made Nancy Lieberman the first female coach of a men's pro team, and she won the championship in her first year," Ice Cube continued. "Then Lisa Leslie won it all in year two. With our offer, Caitlin Clark can make history and break down even more barriers for women athletes."

Ice Cube, whose name is O’Shea Jackson, says that the offer was made with the intention that Clark be able to compete in the WNBA “offseason.” Clark is largely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft in April. But it’s unclear how the scheduling of the two leagues would work. 

The 2024 Big3 season is set to tip off on June 15, with 10 games spanning through mid-August. The WNBA regular season, meanwhile, begins on May 14 and ends on Sept. 19.

On “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday, Jackson said that the league has yet to hear back from Clark. 

“We just need an answer, as soon as they are ready to give it to us,” he said. “It’s always 50-50 till we get a no. At the end of the day, it’s a generous offer.”

The offer – as well as the confusion on Jackson’s part about the timing of the WNBA season – caused some current WNBA players to react. 

"It's funny cause I be seeing his son at W games.. they don't talk?" wrote former No. 1 pick Rhyne Howard

"So no other women's basketball player has came to mind in the last 7 years?" wrote Lexie Brown, adding that she'd support if Ice Cube wanted to build a women's iteration of the league. She later discussed it on the Gils Arena Show, noting that his reasoning of wanting to “uplift and support WNBA players and women athletes” is a “cop out.”

Kalani Brown, meanwhile, told Clark to "take that money" and start a women's Big3.

WNBA salaries has been a talking point in recent months as more collegiate stars declare for the league. WNBA stars have often made more money playing abroad than they have in the WNBA. Clark is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on April 15, with a rookie salary of $76,535 for lottery draft picks (Nos. 1-4) that rises to $97,582 by her fourth season. But she also has an NIL valuation of almost $3.5 million.

Diana Taurasi famously skipped the 2015 WNBA season at the request of her Russian club, who paid her more to sit out than she would have made in the W. Her contract with the club was reportedly near $1.5 million per year.

Jackson also seemed to suggest that his league could be an alternative to going abroad

“America’s women athletes should not be forced to spend their off seasons playing in often dismal and dubious foreign countries just to make ends meet,” he wrote. Although it’s unclear whether or not the rapper intends to make offers to additional WNBA players. 

While the league does hold prioritization rules in its CBA, those typically apply only to players playing in overseas leagues. It’s unclear whether or not that would prevent Clark’s participation in the Big3 league.

WNBA players that don’t want to go overseas currently have the option of playing in Athletes Unlimited, which competes in the WNBA offseason.

USC’s Aaliyah Gayles Opens Up About Her Journey Back to Basketball

USC Basketball - Aaliyah Gayles

As part of our 1-v-1 video series, USC’s India Otto sat down to interview her teammate Aaliyah Gayles. Here are five things to know from our conversation with the redshirt freshman guard from Las Vegas.

#1 Aaliyah suffered from a near-death act of violence in 2022.

The incident taught her a lot about herself and the support around her. “[USC] Coach Lindsay [Gottlieb] was one of the first people to fly out there and come see me. That means a lot to me off the court.” 

#2 Her favorite USC memory is when she surprised her teammates after getting out of the hospital.

She left her walker at the door to show she was on the road to returning to the court. “That was my favorite memory because it was family. It was my first time being able to walk to you guys and see you practice.”

#3 There's a reason she wears #3.

#3 was her grandpa’s favorite number and a golden number in her life. Plus, AG3 has a nice ring to it. 

#4 She has a list of basketball GOAT’s:

Candace Parker, Magic Johnson, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, and Cason Wallace.

#5 There have been many celebrity appearances at USC’s games over the years, especially this season.

Aaliyah’s favorites include Will Ferrell, Kehlani, and Saweetie. And she hopes Lil Durk will come to watch a game soon.

Watch the full conversation on the Just Women’s Sports YouTube channel.

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