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170 JIM Brown The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of a Cultural Icon —RobeRta J. neWman intRoDuCtion In his 2002 HBO documentary, Jim Brown: All American, director Spike Lee declares his subject to be “the greatest football player ever.”1 While Lee’s assessment may be something of a hyperbole, there is no question that James Nathaniel“Jim”Brown is considered to be one of the greatest fullbacks in the history of the sport.According to his Pro Football Hall of Fame page,“Brown was more than just a one-of-a-kind running back.He caught passes,returned kickoffs, and even threw three touchdown passes. His 12,312 rushing yards and 15,459 combined net yards put him in a then-class by himself. Jim was a unanimous first-teamAll-NFL pick eight times,1957 through 1961,1963–1965. He played in nine Pro Bowls in nine years and was the game’s outstanding back three times. He closed out his career with a three-touchdown outburst in the 1966 Pro Bowl.”2 Brown’s college record is, if possible, even more impressive. Not only did he excel at his primary sport (rushing for 986 yards, averaging 6.2 yards per carry, and scoring fourteen touchdowns during his senior year at Syracuse University, for example), but he was also a first-team all-American in lacrosse, scoring 43 goals in ten games.3 He also competed in track events, including a decathlon,and played some college hoops.Indeed,by all standard measures, Brown’s star should shine brightly. As a former athlete who also took up acting, he should be ubiquitous, a pop culture idol in his own right. He should, moreover, be that elusive creature for whom parents, educators, and sports commentators search, often in vain. He should be a “role model.” His image recently has taken a significant turn for the better, but in the past, Brown’s reputation was anything but sterling, slowly sliding from its apex in the midpoint in his professional football career with the Cleveland Browns to its nadir at the end of the twentieth century. To see the downward trajectory of Brown’s public image, it is useful to dip into his 1964 autobiography, Off My Chest, coauthored with Myron Cope, where Brown offers his take on the issue of race in America:“The first thing the white man must understand is the depth of our protest. Does he realize Jim Brown: The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of a Cultural Icon 171 that the Black Muslim’s basic attitude toward whites is shared by almost 99 percent of the Negro population? I protest prejudice, but I am a prejudiced man. The white man has forced me to be prejudiced against him.”4 Brown emphasizes that he is “not a Black Muslim, but rather, a member of the more rational NAACP [National Association for the Advancement of Colored People].”5 Nevertheless, with the publication of his book, the outspoken running back’s public image took a self-inflicted hit. Brown’s legal troubles, which began in 1965 and for the most part stemmed from allegations of violence against women,certainly would do little to improve his public image.Yet from the moment Brown began to get his sentiments regarding race“off his chest,”he was no longer just Jimmy Brown,the player who helped elevate the NFL into mainstream American consciousness. Rather, he took the first steps toward becoming Jim Brown, angry black man. WRiting Jim bRoWn Off My Chest,the first inside-the-locker-room,tell-all book written by an athlete , predated Jim Bouton’s landmark memoir, Ball Four, by six years and did little to endear Brown to large segments of his fan base. The book alone did not precipitate his public fall from grace. Nor, in fact, were his legal problems entirely responsible for his slide. But if identification with the Black Muslims coupled with a series of criminal allegations, however unproven, were not enough to precipitate a downturn in his public image, what was? To a great extent, Brown’s image as an athlete, action hero, and activist, whether high or low, was and remains his own creation. As biographer Mike Freeman notes, “The main cause of Brown’s trouble was Brown.”6 Despite Freeman’s assertion, however, Brown did not bear sole responsibility for the changing perceptions of his public image. He had help from the press, including the mainstream media as well as traditional black...

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