Boycott by nine African American football players at Syracuse University
The Syracuse Eight were 9 college football players who advocated for an end to discrimination against African American football players at Syracuse University and for other reforms to the program. They eventually boycotted a practice and then the 1969 season.[1][2]
In 1969 a group of nine African American student-athletes boycotted Syracuse University's football program to demand change and promote racial equality. Popularized erroneously in 1970 by the media as the “Syracuse 8,” the nine students behind the boycott were Gregory Allen, Richard Bulls, Dana Harrell, John Godbolt, John Lobon, Clarence “Bucky” McGill, A. Alif Muhammad (then known as Al Newton), Duane Walker, and Ron Womack.[3] The student athletes drafted a list of four demands, three of which were advocating for the betterment for all student athletes at the university, were access to the same academic tutoring as their white teammates; better medical care for all team members; starting assignments based on merit; and racially integrating the coaching staff, which had been all white since 1898.[4]
Timeline
The boycott began after Floyd Little (who at that point was with the Denver Broncos) made critical comments in an interview published in The Daily Orange. Floyd, intending to boost morale, commented that several players on the upcoming Syracuse team could be drafted if they were to come up with total efforts, something he said they had not been doing. He left after saying he thought the black players were bitter and that he had never known the coaches to mistreat anyone.[5] This name-calling included several black athletes and led to a walkout by 10 black varsity players. Little never retracted his words.[6] This incident set off a longer boycott that lasted for a year. Facing what they believed to be unfair treatment and discrimination, the group decided to boycott Spring practice, which would later turn into, the boycott of the 1970 football season when a list of demands was not met. Head coach Ben Schwartzwalder's authoritarian handling was criticized by Dr. Johnson, in-charge of the Afro-American Center at Syracuse.[7]
List of demands and Boycott
The list of demands was written to enhance the experience of all student athletes at the university, not just the black ones. The first demand was for equal access to tutors and academic advisors. Black athletes were pushed to take basic reading, writing, and physical education classes, while their white teammates had access to every course within their major of study. Many black athletes did not have the classes they needed to graduate with the degree they attended the university for.[8] This demand was based on their awareness of how their academic potential exceeded the university's expectations.[9]
The second demand for better medical treatment was rooted in the fact that the team medical doctor, Dr. William E. Pelow, was a practicing gynecologist by training and was hesitant to touch black bodies.[8] The team doctor's primary recommendation for every injury (regardless of how serious) was ice and rest.
Demand three boils down to fairness. Black players wanted an equitable and transparent system for determining when Black players traveled to away games and received playing time. There were “unwritten rules” about how many black athletes were going to play in each game.[8] The thinking of coaching staffs at the time was to not let a team “go black.”. It was reported that Black players saw discrepancies in whether they would play or not. As one player described it, “One week you'd be the second-string fullback, and then it'd be time to travel to an away game, and all of a sudden, you'd be the third string defensive end, and left off the team bus.[10] They wanted coaches to stop calling them "boy" and referring to their hair as "fuzz".[3]
The fourth demand was to diversify the coaching staff. Since 1893, Syracuse did not have a coach of color in any sport sponsored by the university. Discriminatory behavior and racist language by their head coach, Ben Schwartzwalder, and his assistant coaches left Black players on the team feeling as if they did not belong. During practices, a limit was placed on the number of black players who could be on the field at the same time. They believed this behavior restricted their talents and decreased the team's likelihood of winning games. The players believed that many of these issues could be remedied by hiring a Black coach.[11]
Jim Brown, Syracuse alum, Heisman Trophy winner, and now member of the Pro Football Hall Of Fame, was brought in to try to mediate between the Nine and the head coach. In a phone interview with the New York Times in 2006, Brown quoted the coach as saying, “Ben had no clue, he had no understanding of what they (the Nine) were doing. He told them they were football players; they weren't Black and all that other stuff, they were football players. He didn't budge.”[3][12] A black assistant coach, Carlmon Jones, was freshly hired out of Florida A&M, but coach Schwartzwalder then called in his black players and told seven of them they were off the team. Others quit in protest saying that if the others couldn't play, then neither would they.[5]
In response to the Syracuse 8 boycott, a counter-boycott was staged 68 white players, which opposed reinstatement of the Black players. They also signed a petition in full support of coach Schwartzwalder.[13]
When their list of demands was not taken seriously by head coach Ben Schwartzwalder, the nine players continued the boycott into the 1970 season.
Legacy
After a 10-week study, the committee concluded in December that “racism in the Syracuse University Athletic Department is real and chronic, largely unintentional, and sustained and complicated unwittingly by many modes of behavior common in American athletics and longstanding at Syracuse University.”
In the 39-page report released on Dec. 9, 1970, said that the “Athletic Department showed an unwarranted insensitivity to attempts by black players to question (offensive) treatment,” and criticized the “long-standing authoritarian role of Head Coach Schwartzwalder”.
After the release of the report, there was hope that since their claims were confirmed, change was imminent. Unfortunately, the small victory was short lived when the head coach of the team still did not have any interest in the report or its findings. A silver lining that came from this announcement was that the nine players, that have been effectively removed from the team at this point, would be permitted to keep their scholarship for the remainder of their academic careers at Syracuse University.
Only one of the nine players to boycott during the 1970 season ever suited up and played for the Orange again.
During the 2006 football season, the "Syracuse 8" were invited back by Chancellor Nancy Cantor to receive the "Chancellor's Medal", the university's highest honor, and their Letterman jackets.[12][14] The university also formally apologized to the nine and commended them for their courage and willingness to speak up when faced with injustice.[3]
Dana Harrell and Gregory Allen recall the day as such:
"They had us in the tunnel, and they wanted us, when they called our names, for us to run out of the tunnel, like we did in our playing days," Dana says. "And we looked at them like they were crazy. We don't have two good knees between us. But the satisfaction was immeasurable."[2]
"There were nothing but smiles and old men welling up in tears.” Gregory says. “I almost don't have the words to describe it. It was a cleansing, a lifting of this baggage that I had been carrying around for years to have someone finally acknowledge that we didn't do this, you know, to spite the university or to hurt the university. We were trying to make the university and this world just a better place."[2]
National Impact
America was on the heels of one of the most divisive times in its history. The American Civil Rights Movement which scholars cite as lasting from 1954 through 1969 (give or take). Pillars of the movement such as Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X were all still fresh in the minds of Americans and certainly in the media for the time. Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law by President Lydon B. Johnson,[15] many behaviors and society “norms” that had come to be common place in America during the “Jim Crow era” were hard to unlearn and adopt new, progressive policies by many states and cities. The Civil Rights Act was a major victory for the movement, but in many ways, its signing was just a symbolic one. Much work still needed to be done in reversing Jim Crow laws at the local and state level for its African American citizens to see real change. Even after this landmark Act, the resistance by "pro-Jim Crow" lawmakers, politicians, and some white Americans, particularly in the southern states, led to the further unwilling to adapt a changing America.[16]
1968 Summer Olympic Black Power SaluteTommie Smith and John Carlos, who had won gold and bronze respectively, agreed to use their medal wins as an opportunity to highlight the social issues happening in the United States at the time. Racial tensions were at an all-time high, and the Civil Rights movement had given way to the Black Power movement by the late 1960s and early 70's. African-Americans like Smith and Carlos were frustrated by what they saw as the passive nature of the Civil Rights movement. They sought out active forms of protests and advocated for racial pride, Black nationalism, and dramatic action rather than incremental change.
It was only months after the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and protests against the Vietnam War were gaining steam as well. In the lead-up to the Olympics, Smith and Carlos helped organize the “Olympic Project for Human Rights”, a group that reflected their Black pride and social consciousness. The group saw the 1968 Summer Olympic Games as an opportunity to communicate for better treatment of Black athletes and Black people around the world. Its demands included hiring more black coaches and rescinding Olympic invitations to Rhodesia and South Africa, both of which practiced apartheid. Though the project initially proposed a boycott of the Olympics altogether, Smith and Carlos decided to compete in the hopes they could use their achievements as a platform for social movement.[17][18]
As the American athletes raised their fists, atop the medal stand, the stadium hushed, then burst into racist sneers and angry insults. Smith and Carlos were rushed from the stadium, suspended by the U.S. team, and kicked out of the Olympic Village for turning their medal ceremony into a “political statement”. Carlos and Smith returned home to the United States, only to face serious backlash, including death threats.[19]
Muhammad Ali's boycott of the Vietnam War
On April 28, 1967, with the United States at war in Vietnam, Muhammad Ali refused to be inducted into the armed forces, saying “I ain't got no quarrel with those Vietcong.” On June 20, 1967, Ali was convicted of draft evasion, sentenced to five years in prison, fined $10,000 and banned from boxing for three years. He stayed out of prison as his case was appealed and returned to the ring on October 26, 1970, knocking out Jerry Quarry in Atlanta in the third round. On March 8, 1971, Ali fought Joe Frazier in the “Fight of the Century” and lost after 15 rounds, the first loss of his professional boxing career. On June 28 of that same year, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his conviction for evading the draft.[20][21]
The Syracuse 8 still has an impact on sports and other fields today. Their protest served as a catalyst for a bigger, still-active movement for racial justice in sports. The Black Lives Matter movement and Colin Kaepernick's protests against police brutality are just two examples of how sportsmen have recently used their platforms to promote social and political causes. Additionally, the activism of the Syracuse 8 showed the effectiveness of group efforts in bringing about change. The legacy of the Syracuse 8 goes beyond athletics. They paved the way for other oppressed groups to fight for their rights and demand equal treatment because of their advocacy. Diverse populations continue to be active today, including the LGBTQ+ movement and the fight for immigration rights. In conclusion, the Syracuse 8 continues to have an influence on cultural development. Their tenacity paved the path for a more just and equal society, and their brave actions upended the status quo. Their activism reminds us that change is possible when we get together and demand it.[22]
Today's Impact
Athletic trainers at the Syracuse football program have undergone significant changes from the 1970s to the present day. In the 1970s, trainers primarily focused on injury treatment and rehabilitation, while today they play a more proactive role in injury prevention and management. With advances in technology and sports medicine, trainers now have access to a wide range of tools and techniques to help athletes stay healthy and perform at their best. With the lack of practice back in the 1960s, trainers now have standards they must adhere to. Certification for trainers in Syracuse require the successful completion of the BOC exam by the start of employment, a New York Athletic Training Certification at the start of employment, and successfully pass a background check.[23] Since then, the program has had a number of different coaches, including Paul Pasqualoni, Greg Robinson, Doug Marrone, Scott Shafer, and Dino Babers. They added assistants like Carlmone Jones each year to accommodate the racial problems they had on staff. Other head coaches of color were also hired like, Willie E. Jeffries Ritcherson, and W.C. Gorden helped fight these problems.[24] With all this change there was one thing that wasn't addressed, and that was the education the players were receiving. Since the 1970s, the Syracuse football program has placed a greater emphasis on academic success for student-athletes. This has led to the creation of academic support programs and resources, including academic advisors and study halls. In recent years, Syracuse has also implemented a comprehensive Life Skills Program to help student-athletes with personal development and career planning. Additionally, Syracuse has consistently been ranked highly in the Academic Progress Rate (APR) rankings, reflecting the program's commitment to academic excellence. Also, academics began to advocate for reform in college athletics, arguing for greater accountability, transparency, and a renewed emphasis on the educational mission of universities after the 1960s in all major college programs. We can also see that the activism of the era, including the civil rights movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement, had a profound impact on universities and academic institutions. These movements challenged traditional hierarchies and power structures within academia and encouraged the emergence of more diverse and inclusive academic communities. Additionally, the activism of that era paved the way for greater student participation in university governance and decision-making processes, which can be seen after Syracuse 8 took a stand.[25]
America is once again reckoning with forms of racism, dehumanization, discrimination. The murder of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Jonathan Price along with the international pandemic due to COVID-19 in 2020 has brought social justice and health care disparities to the forefront of the national and international conversation. Athletes today such as LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick, and Megan Rapinoe, frequently use their platform to speak out against racism, sexism, and police brutality. In the book titled “The Heritage” by ESPN contributor and host, Howard Bryant, The Heritage refers to the plethora of athletes from the past that also used their heightened visibility, due to sports, to speak out against social injustice issues. "The Heritage" refers to the linage and the duty for athletes today, to not grow silent in their million dollar contracts and gated homes, but to continue to use the platform that they have, that so many athletes of color before them had to fight for, to continue meaningful work in the community, uplift Black citizens, and be role models for those who come after them. [26]
A People's History of Sports in the United States: 250 Years of Politics, Protest, People, and Play By: Dave Zirin
Related Research Articles
John Wesley Carlos is an American former track and field athlete and professional American football player. He was the bronze-medal winner in the 200 meters at the 1968 Summer Olympics, where he displayed the Black Power salute on the podium with Tommie Smith. He went on to tie the world record in the 100-yard dash and beat the 200 meters world record. After his track career, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Canadian Football League but retired due to injury.
Ernest R. Davis was an American college football player for the Syracuse Orangemen who won the Heisman Trophy in 1961. He was the award's first African American recipient. Davis was selected by the Washington Redskins with the first overall pick of the 1962 NFL Draft, but was almost immediately traded to the Cleveland Browns. He was diagnosed with leukemia that same year, and died shortly after at age 23 without ever playing in a professional game. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979 and was the subject of the 2008 film The Express: The Ernie Davis Story.
Raymond Robert Nagel was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He was the head football coach at the University of Utah from 1958 to 1965 and the University of Iowa from 1966 to 1970, compiling a career college football coaching record of 58–71–3 (.455). After coaching, Nagel was the athletic director at Washington State University from 1971 to 1976 and the University of Hawaii at Manoa from 1976 to 1983. From 1990 to 1995, he was the executive director of the Hula Bowl, a college football invitational all-star game in Hawaii.
Floyd Burdette Schwartzwalder was a Hall of Fame football coach at Syracuse University, where he trained future National Football League stars such as Jim Brown, Larry Csonka, Floyd Little and Ernie Davis, the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy.
The Syracuse Orange football team represents Syracuse University in the sport of American football. The Orange compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Syracuse is the only Division I FBS school in New York to compete in one of the Power Five conferences.
Frank Maloney was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Syracuse University from 1974 to 1980, succeeding College Football Hall of Fame inductee, Ben Schwartzwalder. Prior to coaching at Syracuse, Maloney was an assistant coach at the University of Michigan under Bump Elliott (1968) and Bo Schembechler (1969–1973). After departing Syracuse he joined the management team for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball.
The Express: The Ernie Davis Story is a 2008 American sports film produced by John Davis and directed by Gary Fleder. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Charles Leavitt from a 1983 book Ernie Davis: The Elmira Express, authored by Robert C. Gallagher. The film is based on the life of Syracuse University football player Ernie Davis, the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy, portrayed by actor Rob Brown. The Express explores civil rights topics, such as racism, discrimination and athletics. It was the film debut of Chadwick Boseman as Floyd Little.
Racism in sports has been a prevalent issue throughout the world. In particular racism towards African Americans has been especially severe throughout the history of sports in the United States and around the world.
The Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR) was an American organization established by sociologist Harry Edwards and multiple Black American athletes, including noted Olympic sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, on October 7, 1967. The purpose of the group was to advocate for civil rights and human rights for Black people in the United States and abroad, along with protesting racism in sport in general. The OPHR proposed a complete Black athlete boycott of the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City to achieve its goals. While the OPHR advocated for a boycott backed by all Black Americans, the group did not actively include women in its discussions and in the end was mostly composed of track and field athletes.
Colin Rand Kaepernick is an American civil rights activist and football quarterback who is a free agent. He played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). In 2016, he knelt during the national anthem at the start of NFL games in protest of police brutality and racial inequality in the United States.
The Penn State–Syracuse football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Penn State Nittany Lions and Syracuse Orange.
Issues related to race and sports have been examined by scholars for a long time. Among these issues are racial discrimination in sports as well as the observation that there are overrepresentations and underrepresentations of different races in different sports.
The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) is a coalition of more than 50 groups representing the interests of black communities across the United States. Members include the Black Lives Matter Network, the National Conference of Black Lawyers, and the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. They are endorsed by groups such as Color of Change, Race Forward, Brooklyn Movement Center, PolicyLink, Million Women March Cleveland, and ONE DC, and the coalition receives communications and tactical support from an organization named Blackbird.
John Edward Corbally Jr. was an American academic administrator and university president. Corbally led Syracuse University from 1969 to 1971 before becoming president of the University of Illinois system from 1971 to 1979. He held roles in numerous non-profit organizations, including a decade as the first president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Beginning in August 2016, some American athletes have protested against a variety of perceived injustices in the United States by kneeling on one knee while the U.S. national anthem is played. Beginning in 2017, many players also protested against President Donald Trump's criticisms of those involved in the protest, and some against Trump's policies during his time in office. Some observers have described the protests as being politically motivated and/or patriotic and they have also praised the players' social awareness, while others have criticized the drawing of attention to social issues during sporting events, and they have also called the protests unpatriotic or disrespectful. The act itself has become widely referred to as "taking the knee" or "taking a knee".
Protests during the playing of the United States national anthem have had many causes, including civil rights, anti-conscription, anti-war, anti-nationalism, and religious reservations. Such protests have occurred since at least the 1890s, well before "The Star-Spangled Banner" was adopted and resolved by Congress as the official national anthem in 1916 and 1931, respectively. Earlier protests typically took place during the performance of various unofficial national anthems, including "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" and "Hail, Columbia". These demonstrations may include refusal to stand or face the American flag during the playing of the Anthem. Some of the protestors object to honoring the slaveowner and author of the lyrics, Francis Scott Key.
The 1970 Syracuse Orangemen football team represented Syracuse University during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. The team was led by 22nd-year head coach Ben Schwartzwalder and played their home games at Archbold Stadium in Syracuse, New York. Syracuse finished with a record of 6–4 and were not invited to a bowl game.
Louis Moore is an American historian. He is a professor of history at Grand Valley State University. He studies African American History, Civil Rights, and the history of sport, particularly the connections between race and sports in American history. Together with the historian Derrick White, Moore hosts The Black Athlete podcast.
Taking the knee is a symbolic gesture against racism whereby an individual kneels upon one knee in place of standing to attention for an anthem or other such occasion. It was originated by American football player Colin Kaepernick on September 1, 2016, in protest against the lack of attention given to the issues of racial inequality and police brutality in the United States. Kaepernick's protest led to a wider series of national anthem protests. It has since been adopted by sports players in countries around the world, including association football in the United Kingdom, in solidarity with Kaepernick's protest against racism, and has been seen worldwide in non-sporting contexts such as the Black Lives Matter protests.
Athlete activism in the United States refers to using one's platform as a professional athlete to advocate for social and political issues. It has been a prominent aspect of American sports culture for decades, dating back to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, with athletes such as Muhammad Ali and Tommie Smith using their fame to speak out against racism and discrimination. In recent years, athlete activism has gained renewed attention as athletes have used their platforms to address issues such as police brutality, racial inequality, and LGBTQ rights. The intersection of sports and social justice has been a contentious topic, with some praising athletes for using their influence to bring attention to important issues while others criticize them for being "political" or "divisive."
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
