jim brown, football great, black lacrosse pioneer, and former social and racist justice activist, died Thursday at his Los Angeles home. The College and Pro Football Hall of Famer was 87.
Brown spent his entire NFL career with the Cleveland Browns (1957–1965) and is considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, players of all time. He was the 1957 Rookie of the Year, three-time MVP, nine-time Pro Bowler, and NFL champion (1964). He rushed for 12,312 yards, and scored a combined 126 rushing and receiving touchdowns.
His former team wrote in a statement on his death, “Jim broke barriers like he broke tackles.”
“To the world, he was an activist, actor and football star,” his wife, Monique Brown, wrote in an Instagram post, “To our family, he was a loving husband, father and grandfather. Our hearts are broken.
Jim Brown’s Gridiron Legacy
The New York native led the NFL in rushing eight times and TDs five times. The Browns retired his number 32 jersey and inducted him into the team’s Ring of Honor. were brown First player to rush for over 10,000 yards.
Brown was selected to the NFL’s 50th, 75th, and 100th anniversary all-time teams, was ranked as the No. 1 player of all-time on the College Football 150 list – he was a unanimous All-American at Syracuse in 1956 , and the school retired his No. 44 jersey – and in 2002, Sporting News named him football’s GOAT.
He retired at age 30 as the league’s all-time leading rusher. He also held the single-season rushing record (1,863 yards in 1963), the most in Cleveland Browns history.
Jim Brown’s Post-Playing Career
Brown has appeared in both films and TV, with roles in “Knight Rider,” “The A-Team,” “Chips,” and “Any Given Sunday.”
Brown also became involved in broadcasting, working as a color commentator for NFL coverage, as well as boxing and UFC.
In 1974, she also posed nude for Playgirl.
However, Brown has left behind a complicated legacy. A great athlete who once stood up for civil rights – He also organized the “Cleveland Summit” to support Muhammad Ali’s fight against serving in Vietnam. – also brown had an alleged history of beating women,
its on their wikipedia page own block Committed to assault chargeis against him. it was been arrested at least seven times for assault, Brown was accused and investigated for battering or raping women at least six times between 1960 and 2000, although he found not guilty of any charge,
One ESPN/AP Obit ends by listing his alleged crimes:
He was arrested half a dozen times, mostly for hitting women. He was once fined and spent a day in jail after hitting a golf partner. He was accused of rape, sexual assault and assault in 1985 (the charges were later dropped). The next year he was arrested for beating his fiancee. In 1999, Brown was acquitted of domestic threats against his wife, but was convicted of breaking his car window and serving time in prison for refusing to attend domestic violence counseling.
As we’ve written here on this site, Brown admitted in his memoir to slapping women, and Tried to use his wife’s menstrual cycle to explain his violent outbursts,
Later in life, Brown Supporter of Donald Trump And Colin stood up against Kaepernick’s decision To kneel during the national anthem, saying “Don’t desecrate my flag.”
“…I find myself really pulling for president,” said Brown. JT The Brick Show on Fox Sports Radio. In endorsing the former POTUS, Brown explained, “That would make me very unpopular in the black community, very unpopular with a lot of Americans.”