How did branch rickey show courage?

Answer 1

Up until the late 1940s, Major League Baseball remained segregated: all the teams had white players and managers; black players, no matter how good they were, could only play in the so-called "Negro Leagues." In the mid-1940s, Branch Rickey, who was the general manager of the National League Brooklyn Dodgers, decided it was time for things to change. In 1945, he reached an agreement with a black player named Jackie Robinson, a talented athlete playing for the Negro League's Kansas City Monarchs. Rickey set into motion a plan that would bring Robinson to the Dodgers, integrating Baseball for the first time.

By bringing Jackie Robinson to the major leagues in 1947, Rickey showed courage: he was willing to challenge the major league's acceptance of segregation. It was a risk that could have gone very badly-- the public might have vehemently objected, and fans might have refused to come to the games. It should be noted that Robinson showed great courage too, accepting the role of the first black player at a time when many of his team-mates believed in segregation and did not want a black player on the Dodgers.