Editing Sugar Ray Leonard (section)

==Personal life==

===Family===
[[File:Sugar Ray Leonard in Houston in Jan 2014.jpg|thumb|Leonard in 2014]]
Leonard married his high school sweetheart, Juanita Wilkinson, in January 1980. Their six-year-old son, who was born when they were teenagers, served as the ring bearer.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DsspAAAAIBAJ&pg=2968,2889272 |title=The Spokesman-Review, January 21, 1980 |via=news.google.com |access-date=November 4, 2011}}</ref> In 1984, they had another son.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=adAyAAAAIBAJ&pg=2883,8111774 |title=Anchorage Daily News, June 15, 1984 |via=news.google.com |date=June 15, 1984 |access-date=November 4, 2011 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> They were divorced in 1990. During divorce proceedings, Juanita Leonard testified that her husband physically abused her while under the influence of alcohol. She also said he was an occasional cocaine user. In his testimony, Leonard confirmed his wife's claims and went on to reveal that the problems of their marriage were not due to drug and alcohol use.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Messner |first1=Michael |last2=Solomon |first2=William |date=June 1, 1993 |title=Outside the Frame: Newspaper Coverage of the Sugar Ray Leonard Wife Abuse Story. |journal=Sociology of Sport Journal |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=119–134 |doi=10.1123/ssj.10.2.119}}</ref>

After the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' broke the story, Leonard held a press conference and publicly acknowledged that the accusations were true. He said he started using medication after he retired in 1982, following surgery to repair a detached retina. "I wanted more", Leonard said. "I wanted that arena. I didn't want anyone to tell me my career had to end." "I decided to search for a substitute...I resorted to cocaine. I used when I felt bad, I used when I missed competing at that level", he said. "It was a crutch, something that enabled me to forget." He said he quit using drugs in early 1986, when he woke up one morning and "what I saw in the mirror was scary." "I can never erase the pain or the scars I have made through my stupidity, my selfishness", Leonard said. "All I can do is say I'm sorry, but that is not enough."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2hAbAAAAIBAJ&pg=6730,6962641|work=Daily News |agency=Associated Press |title=Cocaine days were 'childish, stupid,' Sugar Ray says |via=Google News |date=March 31, 1991 |access-date=November 4, 2011}}</ref> In 2011, Leonard revealed in an [[NPR]] interview that he had been free of alcohol since July 2006.

In 1989, Leonard was introduced to Bernadette Robi by [[Kenny G]] at a [[Luther Vandross]] concert. Robi is the daughter of Paul Robi, one of the original [[The Platters|Platters]], and she is the ex-wife of [[Lynn Swann]]. Leonard and Robi were married at Leonard's $8.7 million estate in [[Pacific Palisades, California]] in August 1993. At the wedding ceremony, the grounds were converted into a garden with 10,000 roses and blossoms of other flowers flown in from the Netherlands.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/classic/s/add_leonard_sugar_ray.html |title=Duran wanted "no mas" of Leonard |publisher=ESPN |date=November 19, 2003 |access-date=December 7, 2021}}</ref> They have a daughter, Camille.

Leonard is also the godfather of [[Khloé Kardashian]] and has appeared on many episodes of ''[[Keeping Up With The Kardashians]]''.

===Charity work===
For many years, Leonard has been the International Chairman of the [[Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation]]'s Walk for a Cure and is actively involved in raising both awareness and funds.

Leonard testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs in 2009. The Senate hearing was titled "Type 1 Diabetes Research: Real Progress and Real Hope for a Cure". He testified about the burden of diabetes and the need for continued research funding to find a cure.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jdrf.org/index.cfm?page_id=112127 |title=Sugar Ray Leonard's Testimony before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs |publisher=Jdrf.org |access-date=November 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927144437/http://www.jdrf.org/index.cfm?page_id=112127 |archive-date=September 27, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Leonard and his wife, Bernadette, founded the Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and its annual Walk for a Cure. In 2009, the foundation expanded to support programs that help people rebuild their communities in ten cities across the United States. It supports accessible housing, healthcare services, and educational services and job training.

In 2007 he was awarded The Ambassador Award of Excellence by the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission at the [[Riviera Country Club]] for his continued community involvement.<ref name="Pacific Palisades Post">{{cite web |url=http://www.palisadespost.com/sports/content.php?id=2874 |title=Pacific Palisades -- Palisades-Post |first=Steve |last=Galluzzo |work=palisadespost.com |date=May 15, 2007 |publisher=Pacific Palisades Post |location=Pacific Palisades, California, USA |access-date=July 21, 2012}}</ref>

===Advocacy===
In his autobiography ''The Big Fight: My Life in and out of the Ring'', published in June 2011, Leonard reveals that as a young boxer he was the victim of sexual abuse from an Olympic trainer as well as another man, a benefactor.<ref>{{cite news |first=Harvey |last=Araton |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/sports/in-book-sugar-ray-leonard-says-coach-sexually-abused-him.html |title=In Book, Sugar Ray Leonard Says Coach Sexually Abused Him |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 18, 2011}}</ref> He has since made public appearances to bring attention to the issue of child sex abuse, declaring himself a "poster child" for the cause and encouraging victims to report their abuse.<ref>{{cite web |first=Kevin |last=Iole |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/news/boxing--sugar-ray-leonard-poster-child-fight-against-child-sex-abuse.html |title=Sugar Ray Leonard proves himself a beacon of strength in the fight against child sex abuse |website=[[Yahoo! Sports]] |date=October 29, 2012 |access-date=October 30, 2012}}</ref>