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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
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