People like 71-year-old Wayne Embry.

The highly respected executive serves as a senior advisor to the Raptors but it is his accomplishments long before he landed in Toronto, accomplishments sometimes given short shrift in the context of these times, that are to be celebrated.

He broke down barriers and shattered stereotypes, succeeded when failure could have set a cause back years, and did his own small part to lay the groundwork for what will transpire in the next 48 hours.

"Wayne was the first walking, talking, breathing African-American who showed he could run not just a Basketball team but multimillion-dollar businesses," said Sam Mitchell, the former Raptors coach who calls Embry his mentor.

"He took that stereotype about the dumb jock not being able to do anything away. He smashed it. Wayne showed that people, all people, who are given an opportunity can be successful."

But hope did not always exist, and Embry fully admits he didn't imagine he'd see a time when the United States was ready to embrace an African-American president, as they will Tuesday when Obama is inaugurated. Fittingly, it comes on the heels of tomorrow's Martin Luther King Day holiday in the United States. And tomorrow should be an emotional day for the Raptors, who face the Hawks in Atlanta - King's birthplace.

"As we kept promoting education and being the best you could be, eventually we knew that something good was going to happen," says Embry. "That was our hope. It was the hope for everyone. The '60s were a dark time in this process with the riots (that tore apart several American cities) and everything else that happened. But we kept going, doing our best, being the best we could be.

"And here we are."

At the end of a long, and at times difficult, journey.

Embry's wife, Terri, marched with King on Selma in one of the seminal events in the American Civil Rights Movement, a moment of great pride for the family. It is another layer to the Embry legacy.

"He clearly was one of the key individuals in terms of breaking down barriers for players and executives," said Toronto's general manager Bryan Colangelo, who has been a friend of Embry's for decades. "He's got such a wisdom about him, about multiple things, not just Basketball but life, that's truly special."

The players? They realize it, too.

"Oh yeah, oh yeah," Chris Bosh said when asked if life has been made at least a bit better because of trailblazers like Embry.

"You can't show your appreciation until you actually meet him and you can tell him. It's kind of like, the emotion isn't as genuine until you see him and talk to him and you really share a moment with that person.

"I'm sure every player in the league appreciates guys like him."

It has been 50 years since Embry was drafted by the Cincinnati Royals out of the University of Miami (Ohio), embarking on a career of significant accomplishments at every level.

It has been a tumultuous half-century in race relations and professional sports, an era marked by breakthroughs and riots, men who changed the world in subtle and not so subtle ways.

Men like Embry.

His illustrious 11-year playing career - five straight seasons as a first-team all-NBA all-star in Cincinnati, an NBA title won in two seasons in Boston and a year as the first captain in the Milwaukee Bucks' history - only set the stage for even more significant contributions that resonate this week.

He became the first African-American to be name general manager of an NBA team when the Bucks promoted him in 1972 to a job he held for eight seasons. For seven more seasons, he was the general manager and vice-president of the Cleveland Cavaliers and became the first African-American team president and chief operating officer in 1994.

"That's all I ever asked for, the opportunity to be the best I could be," said Embry, who has been with the Raptors since June, 2004.

"I just refused to fail," said Embry, "because there was so much counting on it. It was imperative that I succeed. If I hadn't, I don't know how long it would have been for the people who came after me."

So when it comes time to discuss those in professional sports who knocked down walls and provided opportunities for others, Embry should be front and centre in the Basketball discussion.

"I've always said that if it's significant to other people then I'll accept that," Embry said. "When you're going through things, doing things, you don't realize the impact it's having, I don't think.

"Now that it's a bit in my past, I'm proud of the fact I was given some opportunities and had a modest degree of success."Wayne showed that people, all people, who are given an oppor-

tunity can be success-

ful.

Sam Mitchell on Wayne Embry