Memphis Grizzlies announce honorees for pregame symposium before MLK Day game

The Memphis Grizzlies will honor four influential sports figures before the Martin Luther King Jr. Day game against the Golden State Warriors, the team announced Thursday.

NBA Hall of Famer Alex English, NFL Pro Bowl running back Calvin Hill, WNBA champion Renee Montgomery and MLB Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith will be honored with the National Civil Rights Museum Sports Legacy Award before the game. The honorees will participate in the Earl Lloyd Sports Legacy Symposium, which will take place before the game on Jan. 15.

The symposium will take place from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the team's practice facility inside FedExForum, while the game against the Golden State Warriors will tip off at 5 p.m. and will be televised on TNT and Bally Sports.

The Grizzlies also will host a series of events in the week leading up to the game.

English played 15 years in the NBA and helped lead the Denver Nuggets to nine consecutive postseason appearances during his 11 seasons with the team. He created the Let's Share Foundation in 1989 to help empower people and break the cycle of poverty around the world. Hill rushed for more than 6,000 yards during his NFL career and was a four-time Pro Bowl selection with the Dallas Cowboys. He now works as a motivational speaker and sits on the boards of a number of organizations.

Montgomery played 11 seasons in the WNBA and is now a part-owner of the WNBA's Atlanta Dream. She created the Renee Montgomery Foundation to help advocate for social justice. Smith played 19 seasons in MLB and is the all-time shortstop assist leader with 8,375. He created the Ozzie Smith IMAC Regeneration Center, which opened in 2017 and creates physical therapy and other protocols for individual patients. He also serves as president of the PGA REACH Gateway Foundation, which creates mentoring and golf programs for inner city youth and military members.

This will be the 22nd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Game.