By CARLO ANOLIN
Time magazine recently released its lists for the 100 Most Influential People of 2020 and among them are sports personalities, including Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Divided into five categories namely Pioneers, Artists, Leaders, Titans and Icons, Time also acknowledged activists, politicians, philanthropists, world leaders and musicians who made a great impact to the society.
Antetokounmpo, who recently won his second straight NBA Most Valuable Player Award, was recognized for leading a boycott and refusing to play in light of the Jacob Blake police shooting.
The movement sparked several boycotts and protests in the NBA to empower the players’ #BlackLivesMatter campaign.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, six-time NBA champion and league MVP, wrote that Giannis possesses these qualities which every generation finds in an athlete: dedication, focus, exceptional athleticism and grace under pressure.
Time also recognized F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, NFL player Patrick Mahomes, tennis ace Naomi Osaka, former NBA star Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat, Olympic champion Allyson Felix, and women’s football and basketball stars Megan Rapinoe and Maya Moore.
Hamilton and Osaka are known for their activism.Hamilton used his voice as an athlete to call the attention of the public in light of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, both in the virtual and real world.
Wade has etched his name as one of the best shooting guards in the NBA, not to mention his three titles with the Miami Heat.
Wade spent 16 years playing his heart out for the game of basketball. But just like other athletes, the Heat great used his voice to spread kindness and awareness in today’s society.
The 38-year-old Wade and his wife Gabrielle Union, who is also listed in TIME’s list, are proud allies of the LGBTQ+ community.
The couple has set a good example as responsible parents for supporting their daughter Zaya, a transgender.
Osaka of Japan has made a name in tennis history more than just bagging three-time Grand Slam singles champion, being the reigning queen of US Open and the first Asian player to rank No. 1.
The half Japanese-Haitian tennis prodigy, at 22 years old, has become the voice of the oppressed and the black and brown lives.
In the US Open, in seven matches, she wore seven different masks — each bearing the name of a black person who was a victim of racial injustice and police brutality in America.
Aside from winning WNBA and NCAA titles and Olympic gold medals, Moore is also a champion of justice.
TIME highlighted the moment Moore quit professional basketball to advocate for reform of the United States’ criminal-justice system.
Over the summer, the multi-titled Moore helped to win the release of Jonathan Irons, a black man who spent more than 20 years in prison after being wrongly convicted.
“With so much angst, pain, sorrow and dismay in our nation, many are asking what we should require from our celebrated athletes, entertainers and influencers,” wrote Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative and author of Just Mercy.
