'Notorious,' Admired, Respected and Beloved: Athletes Pay Tribute to Iconic Force of Nature Known Simply as RBG

The nation went to bed Friday and woke up Saturday mourning the loss of not only a brilliant legal mind, but an absolute icon of feminism — and badassery.

All Ruth Bader Ginsburg did was become a five-foot tall, robe-wearing, wise-cracking, bespectacled shero of generations of womxn (but not exclusively) using her modest, yet powerful voice and clear-eyed, forward-thinking vision based on the laws of the land.

Her influence and appeal was so far-reaching that she inspired multiple documentaries, works of art, fan blogs, apparel, a future statue in her native Brooklyn, and even tchotchkes like action figures.

You ever see an Earl Warren action figure? Yeah, me neither. That’s what defines the phenomenon that not was, but still is, the “Notorious RBG.”

Her loss, in a world fraught with uncertainties already, was felt powerfully and immediately, so much so that athletes from across the sports world paused from the distraction of fun and games to pay tribute. Here are some notable all-timers and current GOATs who expressed their anguish on Twitter:

Even organizations made their collective voices heard:

If you think that’s a lot, there are hundreds more from athletes around the globe. And millions more from everyday folx behind those. Indeed, Ruth Bader Ginsburg continues to inspire people to see and fight for the just world they want, not one in which they are hopeless to change it.

Rest in power, RBG. All rise.