G06: ELA: Unlikely Hero: Sport

People cheer for athletes when they score touchdowns or goals, but there is much more to cheer for. Athletes are some of the most charitable individuals in the world. Many athletes are using their money, time and influence to impact communities in need both locally and globally. Here are five athletes making a difference around the world.

Malala Fund’s 2020 Game Changer series is championing 30 female athletes from around the world who are breaking barriers in both their sports and their communities.

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision in 2016 to not stand for the national anthem as a protest against the oppression of people of color lit a political fuse that continues to burn through the sports world and society.

Rashford, one of England's top strikers for both the national team and Manchester United, earns an estimated 10 million pounds ($18 million) a year, however, the riches he enjoys now are a far cry from his childhood on a housing estate in Wythenshawe, a deprived area of southern Manchester.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on household food security. A poll by the charity the Food Foundation has found that 200,000 children are now missing meals.

Footballer Marcus Rashford has said he "couldn't be more proud to call myself British" after the community response to his campaign to get free meals for children during the half-term holiday.

The Manchester United and England forward says his call - part of an effort to end child food poverty - is "not going to go away anytime soon".

Growing up, sports played a huge role in Ibtihaj Muhammad life. Fencing was the first sport she encountered that didn’t require her mom to modify her uniform.

In 2016, she became the first hijabi on the US Olympic team, winning a bronze in fencing for her country.