The image of Smith with SJSU and Olympic teammate John Carlos standing atop the victory stand with their arms raised toward the sky and their heads bowed turned the world upside down. Their actions got them banned from the Olympics and banished back to the United States, but it didn't take away from the statement the two made. The reason it was silent was because I thought everyone needed to reconcile within themselves what the plight was. With the eyes of the world focused on the medalists, their actions proved to be even more daring. It made Tommie's courage all the more astonishing.
People lose sight of that.
With that courage came sacrifice. Smith's college roommate St. Saffold said opportunities that would have been presented to most gold medal-caliber athletes vanished when Smith came back to San Jose. A number of athletes who won a gold medal could parlay it into a lucrative lifestyle. Tommie was unable to do that. The opportunity did not come forth from people who could have provided that.