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Trump posts tribute to NFL legend Jim Brown on Truth Social: ‘What an athlete, what a man’

May 20, 2023 | | Print Article

Former President Donald Trump has joined the throngs of people who’ve been paying tribute to deceased legendary NFL star Jim Brown.

“Legendary NFL running back Jim Brown, a man who, in his later years, became a friend of mine, died today at 87. He was tough and strong, but always trying to help people in need. That’s how I got to know him. What an athlete, what a man. He will be greatly missed!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social late Friday evening.

Look:

The post was published a few short hours after the news broke that Brown had passed.

“It is with profound sadness that I announce the passing of my husband, Jim Brown. He passed peacefully last night at our LA home,” his wife, Monique Brown, announced on Instagram late Friday afternoon.

“To the world he was an activist, actor, and football star. To our family, he was a loving and wonderful husband, father, and grandfather. Our hearts are broken …,” she added.

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A post shared by Jim Brown (@jimbrown)

As noted by ESPN, Brown was considered to be “one of the greatest professional and college football players of all time.”

“In 2020, Brown was selected to the NFL 100 all-time team and also was ranked as the No. 1 all-time player on the College Football 150 list to celebrate those sports’ anniversaries. He was named the greatest football player ever by the Sporting News in 2002,” ESPN notes.

Prior to his retirement in June of 1966, he played nine seasons for the Cleveland Browns (1956-1965) and reportedly led the league in rushing eight of those years.

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“He rushed for 12,312 yards and averaged 5.2 yards per carry over his career. He also was named a Pro Bowler every year he played. He led the Browns to the league championship game three times, winning the title in 1964, and was named MVP three times,” according to ESPN.

“He ran for at least 100 yards in 58 of his 118 regular-season games, never missing a game. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards in seven seasons, including 1,527 yards in one 12-game season and 1,863 in a 14-game season.”

Besides being a football legend, Brown was also an activist.

“In June 1967, Brown organized ‘The Cleveland Summit,’ a meeting of the nation’s top black athletes, including Bill Russell and Lew Alcindor — who later became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — to support boxer Muhammad Ali’s fight against serving in Vietnam,” ESPN notes.

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“In later years, Brown worked to curb gang violence in Los Angeles and in 1988 founded Amer-I-Can, a program to help disadvantaged inner-city youth and ex-convicts. Brown also advocated for modern athletes to be more involved in the black community.”

And, of course, he was an actor who played a role in multiple shows, TV series, and movies, “including “Original Gangsters.”

Believe it or not, Brown was also a tacit Trump supporter.

“I should be criticizing Trump on every level because he does certain things that call for criticism,” he said on a sports radio show back in August of 2018, as reported by Bleacher Report.

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“But when I look at television I see all these announcers become experts and they’re pointing the fingers and they’re not doing a doggone thing but pointing their fingers, I find myself really pulling for the president,” he added.

He admitted at the time that this view wasn’t likely to endear him to other black people but stressed that the truth is the truth.

“Now, that would make me very unpopular in the black community, very unpopular with a lot of Americans. But I think that there are certain good things that are coming out of this presidency because we’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.

Then-President Trump was inordinately pleased by the unexpected praise:

The tweet was posted just a few weeks before Brown visited the Trump White House with rapper Kanye West.

If you look closely, you can see him sitting next to West in the video below:

As noted earlier, throngs of people have been paying tribute to Brown ever since word of his death broke, including the Cleveland Browns.

“Jim Brown Forever. Legend. Leader. Activist. Visionary. It’s impossible to describe the profound love and gratitude we feel for having the opportunity to be a small piece of Jim’s incredible life and legacy,” the team said in a statement.

“We mourn his passing, but celebrate the indelible light he brought to the world. Our hearts are with Jim’s family, loved ones, and all those he impacted along the way,” the team added.

See more tributes below:

Vivek Saxena
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