# Who is the greatest athlete activist of all time?

> Some of them lost titles for it, some lost careers, one lost every endorsement she had inside a day. The price varies as much as the cause.

*By YPB Team · Published August 23, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/who-is-the-greatest-athlete-activist-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Muhammad Ali** — score 1000/1000
   Refused induction into the US Army in 1967 and lost his titles and nearly four years of his prime for it.
2. **Arthur Ashe** — score 558/1000
   Campaigned against apartheid, was arrested protesting it, and spent his last year on AIDS awareness.
3. **Billie Jean King** — score 499/1000
   Founded the WTA, forced the US Open into equal prize money in 1973, and kept working after being outed cost her every endorsement.
4. **Kareem Abdul-Jabbar** — score 447/1000
   Boycotted the 1968 Olympics, changed his name at the height of his fame, and has written on race ever since.
5. **Curt Flood** — score 447/1000
   Sued Major League Baseball over the reserve clause in 1970, lost, and never played again.
6. **Jackie Robinson** — score 447/1000
   Broke Major League Baseball's colour line in 1947 and spent the rest of his life on civil rights.
7. **Martina Navratilova** — score 446/1000
   Came out publicly in 1981, when almost no active superstar in any sport had, and campaigned on it for decades.
8. **Colin Kaepernick** — score 319/1000
   Knelt during the anthem in 2016 over police violence and has not played an NFL game since.
9. **Tommie Smith** — score 240/1000
   Raised a gloved fist on the 200m podium in Mexico City in 1968 and was expelled from the Games for it.
10. **Simone Biles** — score 240/1000
   Testified to the US Senate about the Nassar abuse and withdrew mid-Olympics over her own health.
11. **Megan Rapinoe** — score 240/1000
   Led the US women's team's equal-pay case against its own federation and won a settlement in 2022.
12. **Naomi Osaka** — score 41/1000
   Wore seven masks at the 2020 US Open and later forced a conversation about athletes and press obligations.

Tags: usa, sports, women, athletes