Muhammad Ali and the top 5 culturally significant athletes ever

5. 1966 Texas Western men’s basketball team

In 1966, Texas Western’s men’s basketball team made a statement by using five African-Americans to beat Kentucky. This came shortly after Kentucky Wildcats head coach Adolph Rupp had said, “No five blacks are going to beat Kentucky”. The team went through a ton of pain and faced racist remarks wherever they went as the United States was in the midst of a civil rights battle for equality. Texas Western proved to the nation that African-Americans were capable of playing at the same level as Caucasians. That was extremely important.

Racism is sadly something that might never go away. But Texas Western and head coach Don Haskins realized that they had a unique opportunity to make a statement and pave the way for African-American athletes for years to come.

Haskins wrote in his book Glory Road that he didn’t want to be a racial pioneer and that he had just started his five best players against the University of Kentucky. Too bad Haskins. You and your team were and still are pioneers. They helped to unite a nation that desperately needed clarity in a seemingly never-ending war for equality for everybody. That war is going on to this day. But thanks to Haskins and his team in 1966, a huge battle was won.

Next: 4. Tiger Woods