The White House announced that President Donald Trump has pardoned former San Francisco 49ers owner, Edward DeBartolo Jr. DeBartolo, 73, pleaded guilty in 1998 to failing to report a felony after paying $400,000 to former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards for a riverboat gambling license.

He helped build the 49ers’ dynasty in the 1980s and ’90s, but is notorious for his role in one of the biggest owners’ scandals in sport’s history.

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DeBartolo led the 49ers to five Super Bowl championships before stepping down in 1997 after reports emerged of his indictment for gambling fraud. He served no prison time, but was fined $1 million and was suspended for a year by the NFL.

“He’s the main reason why we won so many Super Bowls,” NFL great Jerry Rice said. “So today is a great day for him. I’m glad to be here and be a part of that. It’s just something I will never forget. This man, he has done so much in the community, has done so much in NFL football.”

“I take my hat off to Donald Trump for what he did,” Rice added.

The DeBartolo family made their fortune in commercial real estate and also owned the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL in addition to the 49ers.

DeBartolo was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016 and this pardon seems to truly cement his legacy in NFL history.

Two great retired NFL players, Jim Brown and Ray Lewis, entered Trump Tower on Tuesday to discuss issues affecting the black community in America with President-elect Donald Trump. 

Former NFL Stars Jim Brown, Ray Lewis Meet With Donald Trump At Trump Tower

“We couldn’t have had a better meeting,” the 80-year-old Brown gushed afterward. The graciousness, the intelligence, the reception we got was fantastic.”

Cleveland pastor Darrell Scott, who also attended the meeting, said they discussed Browns’ Amer-I-Can nonprofit group dedicated to improving the plight of troubled youth.

“We talked about marrying or merging the Amer-I-Can program with the Trump administration to make America great again,” said Scott, an fervent Trump supporter.

“Rather than going out and inventing a vehicle to enhance the African-American community we have a vehicle in place that we need the country to get behind so we can affect positive change in our communities.”

Scott, Brown, a former fullback for the Cleveland Browns who played from 1957-1965, and Lewis– a former Baltimore Ravens linebacker (1996-2012)– were met by one of Trump’s advisers, former reality TV star and “Apprentice” contestant Omarosa Manigault, Tuesday morning. 

“Urban development and job creation are everything,” Lewis, 41, told reporters after his meeting. “What we believe with the Trump administration is if we can combine these two powers of coming together — forget black or white. Black or white is irrelevant. The bottom line is job creation and economic development in these urban areas to change the whole scheme of what our kids see.”

Lewis also works with Ameri-I-Can.

He and Brown have both been associated with controversy. Lewis was charged in the fatal stabbing of two people outside an Atlanta Super Bowl party in 2000. He also dodged a murder rap thanks to a plea deal in which he agreed to testify against the two other suspects.

Brown, a Hall of Famer, has been arrested several times for sexual abuse and assault.

On CNN, Brown lauded Trump for surviving a challenging presidential campaign and ultimately winning the election. “When he goes through what he went through to become the president, he got my admiration,” Brown told the network. “No one gave him a chance.”

The two NFL legends weren’t the only celebrities to meet with the President-elect on Tuesday, however.

Rapper Kanye West dominated headlines after he strolled into Trump Tower, and said he just wanted a picture with the President-elect. West, like Trump, has been known for making outlandish and controversial comments both verbally and on Twitter. Just days after the election last month, West publicly revealed that he did not vote, but that if he had, he would have voted for Trump.

Vogue editor Anne Wintour met with Trump for about 30 minutes and discussed several issues, according to an ABC News reporter.

Billionaire Bill Gates was also seen at Trump Tower. The Microsoft founder walked to the elevators without speaking to the press.

Gates did, however, give an interview to CNBC earlier Tuesday after speaking with Trump by phone about potential innovation ventures.

“Of course, my whole career has been along those lines, and he was interested in listening to that,” Gates said.

Gates also compared the President-elect to John F. Kennedy, Jr.

“In the same way President Kennedy talked about the space mission and got the country behind that,” Gates said. “There can be a very upbeat message that (Trump’s) administration (is) going to organize things, get rid of regulatory barriers, and have American leadership through innovation” in education, public health and energy.

NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 13: (L to R) Former professional football player Jim Brown, former professional football player Ray Lewis, and Pastor Darrell Scott speak to reporters at Trump Tower, December 13, 2016 in New York City. President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team are in the process of filling cabinet and other high level positions for the new administration. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

During game three of the NBA Finals, there was a small moment that meant a lot to an old time football player. Right before the opening tip off, LeBron James noticed legendary Browns running back Jim Brown in the crowd. So before the game began, the greatest basketball player in the world bowed to Brown out of respect: something that hardly went unnoticed.

Jim Brown Ecstatic Over LeBron James’ Respect

Jim Brown, who was one of the greatest running backs to ever play the game, was ecstatic over what James did. He responded by pointing to LeBron in a show of support, but was still gleaming when later asked about the exchange.

“It was an honor for this young man to pay tribute to an old soldier,” Brown said to the Northeast Ohio Media Group. “It was very special to me. We all want to be acknowledged by our peers and by good people and respect is a great word. I look at it as a gesture of respect at a moment when LeBron is the man.”

“It was one of my favorite sports moments of all-time,” Brown continued. “He didn’t have to be thinking about me, so for him to even have the brilliance to show that kind of respect… It was a wonderful feeling.”

As for why LeBron did it, he called the bow “impromptu” and something that just felt right. “What he means to this city, what he means to this community, what he means to sports and to myself is unprecedented,” James told the press. “So it was great to see him there.”

It is amazing to see the bridge between old and new Cleveland athletes on national television, especially since it is such a sports city. Let’s hope for the sake of Cleveland, the Cavs could pull this out and end a 51-year championship drought.

Game Four is tonight at 9 pm EST on ABC.

Syracuse University is in hot water for their decision to unretire number 44, which was famously worn by Jim Brown, Ernie Davis and Floyd Little. These were three of the best running backs to ever play the college game, but they were also important with breaking down barriers for black athletes.

And if you do not understand what a number means, plenty of schools have jersey numbers designated for a specific player or retired because they mean so much to the college. For instance, no one in Ole Miss will ever wear 18 again after Archie Manning, but sometimes at places like USC the number 55 is solely reserved for a game changing defensive beast like the late-great Junior Seau.

Now, 44 means something because of the athletes that donned it. Jim Brown and Floyd Little were amazing talents that developed into Hall of Fame players in the NFL, but Ernie Davis, who died way too soon, was the first African American to ever win the Heisman Trophy. So obviously, there is history behind this number, which is why certain folks are upset about Syracuse’s decision.

“It bothers me to see the decision being made by my alma mater to unretire the legendary 44,” Syracuse-alum Donovan McNabb said on Twitter. “The great RBs who wore the number put SU on the map. What message are we sending across college football and to the football world that it’s okay to unretire such history that was so strong that a movie was made about one of our great RBs in Ernie Davis.”

“No one should be rewarded in wearing that number. Do [you] see other schools taking numbers down from the [rafters] for any reason at all? I think it is totally disrespectful to those who have worn it and for those who wore the mighty Blue and Orange. It was retired in [2005] for a reason. Which it should have been done along time before then.”

The school, for now, has since backtracked a bit, so it is unclear whether this decision will actually go through.

Jim Brown Comments On Syracuse Unretiring 44

Syracuse, in their original statement, said they got approval for the decision from both Little and Brown. Well, Brown just appeared on The Rich Eisen Show, where he was asked about the whole ordeal.

“I didn’t exactly endorse it. I just didn’t complain.” Brown stated. When they asked him a follow up question, he continued, “I didn’t talk to anyone before they decided to do it, so they couldn’t have my blessings.”

“To unretire something, there has to be a commercial aspect to it. So if it’s going to help the team professionally or help a scholarship fund or something like that, then that’s good. But for me, to endorse something that takes away something from you, that doesn’t make sense. Unless I did something to deserve it. It seems like a punishment to me. I didn’t take it that way, but it couldn’t be a positive thing unless someone explained it so all of us could see the positive aspect of it.”

While a jersey number never mattered much to me, I can see where Brown and McNabb are coming from. This 44 was worn by some of the greatest athletes to have ever played the game. And to possibly sully the name by unretiring and giving it to a kid can be difficult to swallow. Still, the number was worn before Brown and after Little until it was retired in 2005. In fact, six people wore it after Floyd and even two wore it between Brown and the aforementioned Little. So one can ask, has the school really taken that much care of the number?

But like Jackie Robinson’s family convening about giving out the number 42, if Syracuse continues with their plan, then they need to include Brown and Little on the decision. They, at least, owe them that much.