One I know
I don't deserve. And.
I. I know that sports.
Has done more for me.
Than I've been able
to do for any sport.
But I also know that.
The rules of sport. And.
The dedication. And discipline
that it takes to succeed in
any sport. Is what it takes to
succeed life. If Ambassador
Andrew Young wants to reminisce,
he has a lot of memories to pull from.
Civil rights, politics
and yes, sports. The South
generally is sports minded. You grow
up playing something,
but I went to college at 15.
And so I was too small.
But the coach's high school
coach would come by my house.
You know every every summer to
see if I was if I had grown up.
Because I was a good athlete. But.
It was my last year in college that I.
Made the track team. And.
In that first track,
meet out of a participated in.
Was with Quantico marines.
And. The record for.
The 2:20. Was 21, seven.
It was the first time I'd ever had
on track shoes and I ran a 21 four.
He didn't become a world class athlete.
His path went elsewhere.
But as one of the icons,
one of the anchors in Atlanta history,
he was there as the city
became internationally known
and sports played a big role,
it was in the mind of the leadership.
That they saw sports as a way of helping
to make Atlanta a big League City.
And I remember being out in
front of the American hotel.
When the Braves came to town and
Hank was sitting up. And I was,
I was sitting with a bunch of guys,
white in overalls and obviously
from out in rural areas. And.
I wondered what they'd say when I came
by and. They started talking about.
We got to be a big League City,
I think corporate America.
Suddenly realized. That sports.
Was not only good for business,
but it was good.
It was a good vehicle. To create,
to breakdown barriers and to create.
Harmony. In the community.
And.
I think that.
Politically, it worked out.
It worked out. When the 1996
Olympics came here to Atlanta,
Billy Payne led a small group that
enlisted Ambassador Young support.
How did Billy Payne? Get the courage.
I mean, it was a crazy idea.
Nobody in their right mind would have
thought of the Olympics, including me.
Billy Payne was a football player
who had triple bypass in his 30s.
He recovered, raised funds for his
Dunwoody Church, ambassador Young says.
That awakens something in pain.
I saw a young man. Who was about to die.
And who recovered? And went
to church to do something with his life.
And to go home. And the coincidence
of sitting down and turning on the
television and the 16 days of glory,
of 17 days of glory,
of this thing about the Olympics came on
and he was feeling good about the church.
And he said to Martha, his wife,
I wonder if we could bring
the Olympics to Atlanta.
At that time, the Olympics was very bad.
Business the Olympics had left.
Montreal, $700 million in debt and
nobody wanted to touch the Olympics.
But they made it happen.
And fitting for Ambassador Young to
be involved, as it was inexperience
at a youthful age involving the
Olympics that gave a future U.S.
ambassador one of his first life lessons.
I grew up in New Orleans.
With the Nazi Party headquarters,
the German American Bund 50
yards from where I was born,
and the way my daddy explained to
me about white supremacy and Nazism
was the take me to the movies to
see Jesse Owens in the 36 Olympics.
And when Jesse Owens won,
rather than give him his medal,
Hitler stormed out and took all
his stormtroopers with him.
And it was a direct insult.
But my father said, but look,
watch what Jesse does,
I said he's not doing anything.
He said yes, he is.
He said he's preparing because
he's got three more races to run.
And that's where he gave me my.
That's sort of my passport for life, you see.
Jesse Owens didn't get mad.
White supremacy was Hitler's problem,
not his problem.
And he said you don't get mad,
you get smart.
A lesson from sports, well received
is hard to get mad.
With somebody.
You know team sport.
Because your teammates calm you down.
And if you think of.
Life is a team sport.
There's no better preparation for life.
Than any sport. It was what made
Atlanta work, though.
And it was the fact that Ivan Allen.
To Billy Payne. With
help from Mayor Hartsfield.
Mr Woodruff and Coca-Cola.
That it was a desire to be a big League City.