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SEARS POINT, Calif. -- Ryan Hunter-Reay left the last Verizon IndyCar Series race at Watkins Glen International on Sept. 4 having just learned that his title sponsor DHL was on the brink of signing a contract extension through the 2020 season with Andretti Autosport. It was great news.Since then:? He and his wife Beccy welcomed a third child to their Florida home, a healthy baby boy named Rhodes, on Wednesday.? Later the same day, Beccys father, Bob Gordon, and his wife perished in what Orange County (Calif.) police are calling a murder-suicide.? Friday was Beccys birthday. Thats the same day Ryan went back to work, stepping into his No. 28 DHL Honda Indy car across the country at Sonoma Raceway to practice for the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma.? Sunday afternoon, Hunter-Reay and the Andretti Autosport team signed the contract extension and made the news public.Few people have experienced the wide spectrum of emotions that have affected Hunter-Reay over the past few days, yet once strapped into his bright yellow race car at Sonoma, he was at his level-headed best.In a season when most Honda cars have struggled for qualifying speed on road courses, Hunter-Reay advanced to the Firestone Fast Six for only the third time this year.While he understandably misses his wife and family, being in the company of his extended work family has brought the driver comfort at a difficult time.Absolutely, Hunter-Reay said Sunday, speaking to a small group of reporters after the media conference to announce his contract extension.Especially to be surrounded by a group of people I work so well with. They feel like family; theyre my friends. I know this is not about me, but being here is what everyone wanted and it has been a great bit of relief.Nothing can really prepare you for any of it, but on the professional side, things are going in the right direction and todays announcement is great news, he added. Im very happy about this and obviously its been a lot of highs and some lows. Its just been a wild ride for the past week and a half.Hunter-Reay has been though his share of professional stress and strife. After winning an Indy car race as a rookie in 2003 in the Champ Car World Series, he struggled to maintain a foothold in the sport over the next few years.He caught a break when Rahal Letterman Racing signed him in mid-2007, but even though he won a race, that ride fell through when the sponsor pulled out of racing and he faced several winters of uncertainty.Michael Andretti scraped together enough backing to sign Hunter-Reay to a three-race deal at the start of 2011, and once again, RHR came through by posting a win at Long Beach in his third start. The Andretti/Hunter-Reay combination has been together ever since, with DHL signing on as title sponsor in 2012.Now the most experienced American driver in the IndyCar Series is contracted for three years as opposed to three races.I was on the brink there in 2006-07, Hunter-Reay admitted. I was maybe a month or two away from going and doing something else with my life when Bobby Rahal gave me the chance at Rahal Letterman. Every time I got in the car I knew I had to prove myself immediately because it wasnt going to be a two-year deal where I could just take my time to develop.That fighting mentality was instilled at that time, when I was given opportunities and not a lot of time to prove myself.Beccy was a big part of Ryans support network in those tough times, and now the couple are established in the fabric of the IndyCar Series. Having grown up in a racing family (Bob Gordon was a well-known off-road racer, and brother Robby is a former Indy car and NASCAR star), she understands why it was so important for Ryan to get back into his work environment this weekend.That didnt make it any easier for Ryan.Beccy is doing amazing, Ryan said. Shes strong, and focusing on a newborn baby has been a blessing at this time. Its amazing how strong she is, how strong Robby has been, and her sisters Robyn and Hailey. Its blown me away because this is nothing you can prepare for. This isnt as simple as a life passing.Team owner Michael Andretti had no doubt that Hunter-Reay would be in the car this weekend. As a former driver, Michael knows that being in the car is the best sanctuary during emotional times for a racer.Michael famously continued competing in the 1992 Indianapolis 500 after his father Mario and brother Jeff were both hospitalized with significant leg injuries from crashes.Hes a professional, Andretti said. He even made the comment that hes so happy to be here at the racetrack and getting back in the car because hes able to just focus on that. Thats the best medicine. I know how he feels; Ive been there where I had to focus when there were outside things. It was always good to get in and just do your job and I know thats the way it is with him.I truly believe hes one of the best and its very important to have a talent like him on your team, Andretti added. Now hes got stability as well and thats huge. Its big for him, its big for us, its big for the team itself.Now in the most secure position of his career, its likely that the best is yet to come for Hunter-Reay. Hes won 16 races and the 2012 championship, making him the most successful American driver currently competing in the IndyCar Series, and at age 35, hes just hitting his prime.Hes the lead driver for Hondas flagship Indy car team, putting him in prime position to capitalize if the manufacturer can gain the upper hand over its competition from Chevrolet.And even though he has been put through a world of worry in the last week, the next four years look pretty much care-free.To not stress about a contract, I cant tell you how beneficial it is to the racing side, Hunter-Reay said. You dont have to think about the pressure involved in that. 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Prominent sociologist and civil-rights activist Dr. Harry Edwards says the efforts of superstars such as Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James in using their platforms as a means for social change reflect an evolution in power among top black athletes but that action will be required to effect real change.Edwards, a professor emeritus at the University of California-Berkeley, told The Associated Press that athletes have the capability today that we only dreamed about in the 1960s when only one or two athletes even had endorsements.He dated the punctuated moments of the evolution back to the early part of the 20th century, saying it began as fights to gain legitimacy, then access, before moving on to respect and dignity -- and ultimately power.Joe Louis and Jack Johnson and Jesse Owens struggled for legitimacy, Edwards said. Then you began this struggle for access. Which is what Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby and Kenny Washington and all those guys were involved in. In the 1960s, the struggle was for respect and dignity.Now the struggle is for power. And these men have power. So they have a different forum than we had in the late 1960s to be able to go on network television and make a statement concerning violence and the killing of black men, women and children in this country. ... Thats an exercise of power.Anthony, the New York Knicks star forward, is taking a break Monday from his preparations with the U.S. Olympic basketball team to host a meeting in Los Angeles with athletes, politicians and people in the community to advance the conversation about what he has called a broken system.Anthonys meeting in Los Angeles coincides with the latest stop on the Olympic mens team exhibition schedule as the Americans prepare for the Rio Games.Edwards pointed to the need for progress on both an individual and collective level. He said trust and respect needs to be built between individuals and police and that both sides need to acknowledge wrongdoing. There are criminals in the community who deserve to be arrested and rogue officers who need to be held accountable for excessive force, he said.The bottom line of any step is the voting booth, Edwards said.If youre out there marching up and down the street with Black Lives Matter and then dont go to the polls to vote out the mayor of Ferguson, to vote out the sheriff of Milwaukee County or whatever, then ... youre marching into a cul-de-sac, Edwards said. When you march into a cul-de-sac and just come back out angry, youre not a member of a movement because its not going anywhere. Youre a member of a mob.And the difference in a representative democracy between a movement and a mob is whether you follow through with the actions necessary to make the changes that youve been trying to convince people are the correct direction to go.The newfound power of todays athlete comes from monetary wealth, celebrity status and having the vehicle of social media to communicate directly with the masses. They can reach hordes of people, encouraging them to get involved in social change.Anthony, James, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade gave an anti-violence speech at the ESPYS and expressed their support of the values behind the Black Lives Matter movement. Missouri football players threatened to boyycott games last year in support of student groups protesting the schools racial environment, and Missouri president Timothy Wolfe eventually retired.dddddddddddd Serena Williams spoke out against the violence at Wimbledon. Members of the WNBAs Indiana Fever, New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury recently wore black warm-up shirts in the wake of recent shootings by and against police officers and were initially fined by the league.The WNBA rescinded the fines after a public backlash.It is almost economically impossible to ignore todays athletes as the power they wield reaches further than their bank accounts.James is worth millions of dollars to the Cleveland economy as the success of the Cavaliers motivates thousands of people to spend. The Cavs attendance ranked No. 2 in the league in 2009-10 and the past two seasons but dipped as low as No. 22 during James four years with the Miami Heat.Athletes influence goes beyond promoting merchandise and ticket sales.Social media allows athletes to directly communicate with millions of followers with a few keystrokes. Edwards explained that ISIS has used social media in a similar way to recruit self-radicalized people. The difference is in the message.Dr. Joseph Cooper, an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut, echoed Edwards in saying any major social policy -- civil rights movement, feminist movement, passage of Title IX -- began with multiple conversations.But there must be action behind the words. Both said that is the next step in the process.Cooper called for sustained engagement from athletes on whatever level they are comfortable -- such as continuing the conversation, meeting with groups like Black Lives Matter, the NAACP and 100 Black Men, and identifying specific issues and targeting ways to improve them. Cooper also discussed the need to have benchmarks in which progress can be measured.All these athletes say we care about the Black Lives Matter movement. In a year from now, we want to see that youve actually been continuing in championing the support, Cooper said. Muhammad Alis legacy is a great example of how he didnt rest on his laurels in making one decision and saying OK, thats enough.In a concise manner, the steps forward are sustained engagement. What that looks like for each individual athlete and each community will be different. But it definitely involves tangible action, civic responsibility and engagement and accountability measures. The call for accountability has to be followed up with actual consequences if certain things arent done.Edwards said sports have become a religion in this country and around the world, giving athletes more influence than in the past. He believes as walking corporations they carry more weight than the doctor up the street or the lawyer around the corner or even the community organizer.Sports in modern societies really amount to secular religions, Edwards said. Athletes have a phenomenal megaphone. ... So that obligation to speak up, especially in regards to the African-American outcomes and interests, is critical.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. ' ' '