The entire ordeal was seeped in paradox: A literal All-American, a so-called raceless football legend and the star of ubiquitous television commercials was at the center of a story of violence and villainy that unearthed deeply rooted and fragile racial fault lines between Black and white Americans. The erstwhile hero who, unlike more activist Black athletes of his era, had chosen to avoid tough questions about American racism in exchange for “safe Negro” status, fame and endorsements. That... Read this story
