As a child, Michael Thomas never had a visit from an N.F.L. player in his classroom. That is what he was saying recently to a group of seventh graders at the Eagle Academy for Young Men, in West Harlem. He was asked to be there for an hour. He stayed for two.
He departed with a message. “Leadership comes with a lot of responsibility,” he told the students. “People look at you differently. They hold you to a higher standard.”
A few minutes later, walking down the hallway, he passed a mural of Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising their fists at the 1968 Summer Olympics.