President Donald Trump used the third posthumous pardon ever to clean the record on Thursday of one of this country’s first African-American sports stars.

The president pardoned the late boxer Jack Johnson, the first African-American heavyweight champion of the sport. Among those advocating for the pardon was actor Sylvester Stallone, best known for his portrayal of Rocky Balboa in the “Rocky” film series. The character of Apollo Creed, a favorite in the “Rocky” series, was reportedly based partly on Johnson.

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In 1912, Johnson was arrested and later convicted of violating the Mann Act. This law made it a crime for people to travel across state lines “for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose.” However, all Johnson did was travel with his white girlfriend, Lucille Cameron — yet he was still convicted.

Following his conviction, he lived in exile for seven years, and when he returned to the United States, he spent a year in prison.

Fellow African-American former world heavyweight champion boxers George Foreman, Lennox Lewis and Deontay Wilder were among those who were pleased with President Trump’s decision to pardon Johnson.

Present at President Trump’s desk when he pardoned Johnson, Stallone thanked Trump for Johnson’s pardon.

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He also took time to speak fondly of the late boxer.

“His prime was taken away, and yet he still managed to keep a smile on his face and persevere,” Stallone told reporters. “He’s truly an inspirational character. This has been a long time coming.”

People had been pushing for this pardon for the past 14 years; notable supporters of the initiative included Stallone, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and documentary producer Ken Burns, among others. Since the push had been going on for 14 years, though, it’s clear that former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama passed up the opportunity to pardon Johnson.

However, unlike them, President Trump delivered.

Although a pardon can’t fix all the wrongs against the black community during the Jim Crow era, it does clean Johnson’s record — a move long overdue. The government admitted to its past fault and showed its dedication to be better than it was back then, and to treat all Americans fairly.

The move also delivers quite a blow to the leftist narrative that this president is “racist.” If he truly were racist and did not care about black Americans, then this would be a pretty bad way of showing it, wouldn’t it? Trump wasn’t obligated to pardon Johnson, but he did so anyway: Clearly he felt it was the right thing to do. (As LifeZette reported earlier, Stallone told him about Johnson’s life story over the phone last month.)

Tom Joyce is a freelance writer from the South Shore of Massachusetts. He covers sports, pop culture, and politics and has contributed to The Federalist, Newsday, ESPN, and other outlets.