This unit gives a brief historical overview of how sports evolved from ceremonial ritualistic religious rites of the Southwestern Indians and the Zulu tribes of Africa to contemporary liturgical rituals for fun in arenas today. It also includes a discussion of how and why sports came to industrialized nations like the United States. Two viewpoints are explored - those of Karl Marx and Max Weber. Professional athletes are seen as role models and heroes; therefore, a distinction has been made between the hero and the celebrity. The main focus of the unit is an exploration of the lives of three professional African American athletes-Jim Brown, Jackie Robinson, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar-and how they came into the professional leagues. An ensuing discussion focuses on the self-discipline and perseverance they had to have in order to remain in the professional leagues and become successful athletes and pioneers for other blacks in their respective sports. Since the source of the information is their autobiographies, a discussion of the autobiography as a literary genre is addressed. This unit is meant to be a tool for expanding higher order thinking skills through high interest materials. The activities in the lesson plans are designed to increase critical thinking skills in small, cooperative, and whole group work.