In Reconstructing Fame editors David C. Ogden and Joel Nathan Rosen explore the evolving reputations of controversial athletes of color in the United States. The authors’ claim: the public reputations of athletes of color such as Jackie Robinson, Bill Russell, and Jim Thorpe and the racial significance connected to their stories evolved over the course of their lives and they have continued to evolve even after some of these athletes have died. Through their actions within and outside of the sporting world, these controversial figures challenged the racial status quo of the Jim Crow era, a time when speaking out against inequality and racism in the sporting world was rare and even dangerous. Athletes of color who voiced their grievances about rampant racial inequality were routinely demonized as being ungrateful for their newfound success in the public realm of American professional sports. (PUBLICATION ABSTRACT)
