Cleveland Summit 1967: The Meeting That Changed Sport Forever
This article is in honor of the late & great Bill Russell, a giant of the game of basketball. A true man who is honorably known as the greatest champion in the history of sports.
Bill revolutionized the way sport, including football and the NFL was played. He was an pivotal leader in his 88 years of life. That heroic legacy in civil rights all started with a meeting in Cleveland in 1967.
On June 4th, 1967, an important meeting happened to take place in Cleveland, Ohio. It is commonly known simply asthe “Cleveland Summit”. This meeting would go on to revolutionize the landscape of sports in a country that was reluctant change. Not just at the time, but for the next 50 years.
Boston Celtics star Bill Russell joined icons such as Cleveland Browns star Jim Brown of the NFL, then UCLA star player Lew Alcindor (now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabber), and Boxing Legend Muhammad Ali at the Cleveland Summit In the offices of Brown’s Negro Industrial and Economic Union in downtown Cleveland, where prominent Black athletes gathered to express their support for Ali’s decision not to serve in the Vietnam War.
According to prominent boxing promoter, Bob Arum, the meeting wasn’t just to show face for the cameras as it was reportedly supposed “to convince Ali to take the deal because it opened up tremendous opportunities for black athletes.” He continued stating that, “[He] wasn’t setting it up for the athletes to rally around Ali.”
How relevant is this today
The meeting showed alliance with all African American athletes in sports. Not just Muhammad Ali, but the country dealt with 158 riots during the year of 1967 that erupted over the year.
Those meetings opened up a dialogue that was much needed in the country during triggering times, especially when the same occurrence of actions happened then that continues in today’s America.
It’s been 55 years since the meeting and NFL players are again taking a political stand since such an iconic meeting of minds. From the 1960s through to the 2000s, protest movements have impacted society in many pivotal ways.
Recent memory can point towards then San Francisco QB Colin Kaepernick and his fight against police brutality in America, who started worldwide controversy for his views on police during the 2016-2017 NFL season, a move that divided the NFL.
It’s sad that after so many years, racism still continues throughout society as a whole. But, the lives of all Americans are better because of their sacrifices, on-and-off their respective playing fields. Long before it was cool to say an emphatic NO to “shutting up and dribble.”
Thanks to leaders like Russell, Brown, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabber, and Muhammad Ali, the conversation for a better America is still possible. Russell’s legacy will live on. Forever.
