In honor of Black History Month, CBS Sports presents THE BLACK 14: WYOMING FOOTBALL 1969, the story of 14 African-American players that attempted to protest BYU and the Mormon Church’s ban on African American priests by wearing black arm bands during a future game. Before the game could take place head coach Lloyd Eaton, with the support of University of Wyoming Board of Trustees, dismissed the players from the team.
While students protested at University of Wyoming, and other college campus across the nation, players like Mel Hamilton remained to complete their degrees while Tony McGee transferred to Bishop College in Texas to fulfill his destiny of playing professional football culminating in a super bowl win in 1983 with the Washington Redskins.
Reflecting on his experiences over the past four decades ahead of the documentary’s airing, McGee joined BSO to discuss how he held strong, wishing he and his teammates better communicated the root of their protest, and the importance of the modern day protests of Colin Kaepernick and the Super Bowl winning Patriots players that are choosing to skip the upcoming White House visit.
***
BSO: The current political and social climate makes the airing of the Black 14 story very poignant food for thought. Since the 1969 dismissal, has Wyoming ever reached out to you and the other players to make amends?
TM: Well, yes. In a way. What transpired was Mel Hamilton’s (another member of the Black 14), son entered the priesthood at Brigham Young.
(editors note: African Americans were not permitted to enter the priesthood at Brigham Young until 1978.)
2-3 years ago, he [Hamilton’s son] was speaking with the athletic department of Wyoming and next thing we know Brigham Young the church wanted to give us a letter of apology and a letter jacket.
First of all, we didn’t need a letter jacket and number two we didn’t accept them [the jackets from the church] for the simple fact that all these years we were fighting against treatment that we received on the football field. We were not fighting against the religion. We were being called out of our name, and you know what the words they would use. On the field they would cheap shot us and do whatever they wanted.
I remember a specific time that I went to an official and told him what was going on and ‘he told me to shut up and play.‘ They knew what was going on put didn’t do anything about it. We accepted the Church’s apology but it was never about that. We were protesting the way their players and one of their coaches treated us on the field and our coaches acting like they didn’t know what was going on.
Flip the page read Tony McGee’s thoughts on Colin Kaepernick and the modern day protesting