Adam Silver, Abby Wambach among sports figures on Time 100 list

Four people from the sports world were honored by Time Magazine on Thursday, making its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver, U.S. women’s national team forward Abby Wambach, ballerina Misty Copeland and surfer Gabriel Medina each made the list.

Silver went through a myriad of obstacles during his first year as the NBA’s commissioner as he banned former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and forced him to sell the franchise after he was heard on an audio recording making racist remarks to a companion.

Silver also helped negotiate a new nine-year, $2.6 billion television rights deal that will increase the salary cap and player salaries, and also dealt with Bruce Levenson’s racist email, in which he claimed that the Atlanta Hawks fan base was too African-American.

Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says that Silver has “handled all these potentially divisive issues with openness, fairness and integrity.”

Copeland is the first African-American dancer to play the role of Odette in the American Ballet Theater production of Swan Lake.

“Misty proves that success is not about how you grow up or the color of your skin. It doesn’t matter where you’re from. If you have the passion like Misty, you can be the best at what you do,” writes five-time Olympic gold medalist Nadia Comaneci about Copeland.

Wambach has more international goals than any soccer player ever, and will stand up for causes that are passionate. As she leads the USWNT into the World Cup later this summer, Wambach fought for the world’s players to play on grass instead of artificial turf.

FIFA later ruled that the tournament in Canada won't be played on grass.

Sports Illustrated's Fittest 50 Females

SPEED: Allyson Felix

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6" | Weight: 125 lbs. | Track & Field

STRENGTH: Serena Williams

Age: 33 | Height: 5'9" | Weight: 155 lbs. | Tennis

AGILITY: Simone Biles

Age: 17 | Height: 4'9" | Gymnastics

ENDURANCE: Kristin Armstrong

Age: 41 | Height: 5'8" | Weight: 128 lbs. | Road Cyclist

Abby Wambach

Age: 34 | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 179 lbs. Soccer

Alana Blanchard

Age: 24 | Height: 5'8" | Weight: 120 lbs. | Surfing

Anastasia Ashley

Age: 27 | Height: 5'7" | Weight: 110 lbs. | Surfing

Angel McCoughtry

Age: 28 | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 154 lbs. | Basketball

Ashely Fiolek

Age: 24 | Height: 5'2" | Weight: 106 lbs. | Motocross

Camille Leblanc-Bazinet

Age: 26 | Height: 5'2" | Weight: 130 lbs. | CrossFit

Candice Dupree

Age: 30 | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 172 lbs. | Basketball

Candace Parker

Age: 28 | Height: 6'4" | Weight: 181 lbs. | Basketball

Caroline Wozniacki

Age: 24 | Height: 5'10" | Weight: 143 lbs. Tennis

Christie Rampone

Age: 39 | Height: 5'6" | Weight: 141 lbs. | Soccer

Claressa Shields

Age: 19 | Height: 5'9" | Weight: 165 lbs. | Boxing

Dana Vollmer

Age: 27 | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 150 lbs. | Swimming

Darya Domracheva

Age: 28 | Height: 5'6" | Weight: 123 lbs. | Biathlon

Darya Klishina

Age: 23 | Height: 5'8" | Weight: 119 lbs. | Long Jump

Dawn Harper-Nelson

Age: 30 | Height: 5'6" | Weight: 134 lbs. | Track & Field

Gretchen Bleiler

Age: 33 | Height: 5'5" | Weight: 126 lbs. | Snowboarding

Hannah Teter

Age: 27 | Height: 5'7" | Weight: 132 lbs. | Snowboarding

Hayley Wickenheiser

Age: 36 | Height: 5'10" | Weight: 170 lbs. Ice Hockey

Hilary Knight

Age: 25 | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 172 lbs. Ice Hockey

Ireen Wust

Age: 28 | Height: 5'6" | Weight: 139 lbs. | Speed Skating

Jamie Anderson

Age: 24 | Height: 5'3" | Weight: 119 lbs. | Snowboarding

Jennifer Suhr

Age: 32 | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 143 lbs. | Pole Vault

Jessica Ennis-Hill

Age: 28 | Height: 5'5" | Weight: 126 lbs. | Track & Field

Josephine Pucci

Age: 23 | Height: 5'9" | Weight: 150 lbs. | Ice Hockey

Kacy Catanzaro

Age: 24 | Height: 4'11" | Weight: 100 lbs. American Ninja Warrior

Katarina Johnson-Thompson

Age: 21 | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 150 lbs. | Track & Field

Katie Taylor

Age: 28 | Height: 5'5" | Weight: 132 lbs. | Boxing

Kerri Walsh Jennings

Age: 32 | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 157 lbs. | Beach Volleyball

Maria Clara Salgado Rufino

Age: 31 | Height: 5'7" | Weight: 136 lbs. | Beach Volleyball

Maria Sharapova

Age: 27 | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 130 lbs. | Tennis

Mariana Pajon

Age: 23 | Height: 5'2" | Weight: 117 lbs. | Cycling

Marit Bjorgen

Age: 34 | Height: 5'6" | Weight: 141 lbs. | Cross-country skiing

Maya Moore

Age: 25 | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 174 lbs. | Basketball

Miesha Tate

Age: 28 | Height: 5'7" | Weight: 135 lbs. | MMA

Mikaela Shiffrin

Age: 19 | Height: 5'7" | Weight: 141 lbs. | Skiing

Miroslava Knapková

Age: 34 | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 152 lbs. Rowing

Missy Franklin

Age: 19 | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 165 lbs. | Swimming

Misty Copeland

Age: 32 | Height: 5'2" | Ballet

Nicola Spirig

Age: 32 | Height: 5'5" | Weight: 117 lbs. | Triathlon

Ronda Rousey

Age: 27 | Height: 5'6" | Weight: 135 lbs. | MMA

Samantha Briggs

Age: 32 | Height: 5'6" | Weight: 135 lbs. | CrossFit

Skylar Diggins

Age: 24 | Height: 5'9" | Weight: 146 lbs. | Basketball

Stephanie Gilmore

Age: 26 | Height: 5'10" | Weight: 147 lbs. Surfing

Sydney Leroux

Age: 24 | Height: 5'7" | Weight: 146 lbs. | Soccer

Tianna Bartoletta

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6" | Weight: 130 lbs. | Track & Field

Tina Charles

Age: 26 | Height: 6'3" | Weight: 194 lbs. | Basketball

"Though she lost the battle, the fight sent a powerful message about equality in sports. Whether inspiring her team on the field or taking on important issues off it, Abby uses her passion and fearlessness to lead by example,” Olympic gold medalist and former teammate Mia Hamm said.

Medina won the World Championship in the Association of Surfing Professionals, becoming the first ever Brazilian to ever win that title.

Medina, 21, is making sure his sport is put on the map in a country that’s dominated by soccer. Brazil played host to the 2014 World Cup and hosts the Summer Olympics next year.

“By shaking up a sport typically dominated by Americans and Australians, Medina has become an icon in Brazil and is inspiring a new generation to make some waves,” TIME senior writer Sean Gregory said of Medina.

Top-ranked tennis player Serena Williams wrote about Bryan Stevenson, the Executive Director of the Equal Rights Initiative, a non-profit company that represents "indigent defendants and prisoners who have been denied fair and just treatment in the legal system."

Williams said she admires the way Stephenson has worked hard to make sure everyone is treated equally.

"For decades, he has dedicated himself to fighting poverty and challenging racial discrimination in the criminal-justice system with the perfect combination of unwavering passion and idealism," Williams writes about Stevenson.

To see the complete TIME 100 list, click here.

- Scooby Axson