Female success stories from sporting events like the Olympic Games have played a role in shifting the Indian perception to see the female athlete as a hero and a role model for young Indian girls.
When I discovered Special Olympics and saw how it integrates these athletes into programs that change the whole way they see themselves and how they perform, it blew my mind. I wanted to be involved.
Special Olympics is such an empowering organization for the thousands of athletes involved and those of us like myself who lend support to them.
In football, you're dealing with grown men. In gymnastics, you're dealing with prepubescent teenage girls. There's a huge difference. At that age, you're not confident enough to have a voice.
I think the Olympics are a time for the world to come together and put aside differences, but we're also coming to represent ourselves, our communities, and our countries, so I think it's important to stand up and be a voice.
In 1981, I spoke at the Olympic Congress. I was scandalised that I was the first athlete to be given that chance. But I made the most of it.
Before even Court Grip, I just wanted to be a part of a brand that I felt that listened to the athlete and really catered to the athlete, and gave us what we were looking for.
Amazingly, I think that a lot of times athletes are - are kind of in a position where other think they shouldn't weigh in on certain social topics.
I fight for everybody, national and international, no matter where they are. I want to help those athletes. Not only those in the UFC - those that are in the big league and can have a better future - but those in the small promotions and need our help.
Sports in Indonesia aren't being supported by the government. The rewards you get as a young player don't match the effort you put in. I want to be different from other athletes, if not better, and I want to make something good out of my profile and help the younger players have opportunities.
In the age of millennials, women's rights, and female empowerment, I hope my voice helps to encourage the next generation of great female athletes and golfers to possibly stop social injustices and prejudices from creeping into the game that I fell in love with at such a young age.
I feel that my advances in the business world will shatter a lot of white myths about black athletes-and give some pride and hope to a lot of young blacks.
I think, because of the lack of guaranteed contracts in the league, there's hesitancy to speaking your minds at times. But I feel like there could be a movement beginning where guys are feeling a little more comfortable talking about things that are important to them.
What we do is unique in helping empower athletes and their voice through long-form and short-form content to social to our products.
You could easily do a book of Marshawn Lynch's quotes, which have a quite serious political pushback. I think he's really amazing.
Athletes aren't allowed to have an opinion. It's tough. Athletes are evolving right in front of our eyes. You see athletes who are politicians, etc., and still, we're told to shut up and dribble.
The sports space is so full of opinion that you aren't hearing from the athletes just speaking for themselves. We are such a Twitter-oriented society with radio talk shows, TV talk shows and social media - what you are missing is the authentic, unfiltered aspect of who these people are.
It is said that courage isn’t the absence of fear but the fortitude to confront fear. And as long as homophobia continues to be an accepted element of the locker room culture and homophobic language a coach’s motivational tool, we can never dismiss the courage it takes for an athlete-on any level-to be openly gay. Bobby Blair may not be a household name, but his journey-from frightened collegiate athlete to empowered advocate-is one that has an important lesson for anyone who believes in the unifying power of sports.
What snowboarding has always had and the Olympics has not touched is that spirit, that original spirit of creativity and athletes standing up and having a voice and being innovative. But I guess what the Olympics has done is provided a platform for that spirit, and that's what I see as being a really positive thing.
Professional or amateur, athletes want to see progress. We like to see numbers and metrics improve, and when you have deeper insight into what's going on inside your body, you're empowered to make changes to improve and become stronger.
