ESPN and The Undefeated’s 50 Greatest Black Athletes

Would you rank David Robinson ahead of Tim Duncan?

• Nearly 20,000 American adults participated in The Undefeated-SurveyMonkey Poll
• 50-41 Published Today; Unveiling Continues each Tuesday through Aug. 8

The Undefeated, ESPN’s multiplatform initiative focusing on the intersections of sports, race and culture, today published the first group of names in its list of 50 Greatest Black Athletes. This project explores the societal impact, on-field dominance, and inspiration of top athletes with the idea to spark a new conversation on what it means to be the greatest of all time. The selections were determined by fans via an online survey conducted by SurveyMonkey, the world’s leading online survey platform.

Today, The Undefeated releases the names of athletes whose impact was recognized by US fans, starting from numbers 50 to 41 on the list.

Each Tuesday through August 8, www.TheUndefeated.com will release the next 10 names of the Greatest Black Athletes, counting down the list to No. 1. The series will include athlete bios written by Justin Tinslye, Jerry Bembry and Aaron Dodson, as well as illustrations and video elements that will be shared across ESPN platforms and on social media using the hashtag #Undefeated50.
Athletes ranked No. 50 to 41 in The Undefeated-SurveyMonkey 50 Greatest Black Athletes poll:

• 50: Tim Duncan
• 49: Isiah Thomas
• 48: Earl Campbell
• 47: Derek Jeter
• 46: David Robinson
• 45: Joe Frazier
• 44: Barry Sanders
• 43: Reggie Jackson
• 42: Larry Fitzgerald
• 41: Ernie Banks

For the 50 Greatest Black Athletes list, SurveyMonkey polled nearly 20,000 American adults about the attributes that make athletes great. Participants were asked to rank a randomly selected group of 200 athletes on overall dominance, impact on society, and inspirational resonance. The results are representative of U.S. adults nationally.

The Undefeated is ESPN’s multiplatform content initiative exploring the intersections of sports, race and culture. The digital hub, TheUndefeated.com, combines innovative long-form and short-form storytelling, investigation, original reporting and provocative commentary to enlighten and entertain.
In addition to its cutting-edge content, The Undefeated seeks to be a thought-leader on race, sports and culture in the country – convening insightful forums and other forms of engagement to discuss and debate topical issues affecting sports and race in America. -Mac Nwulu ESPN Digital Media