Interesting Segment From A Book On Vince Lombardi

[Dinger]

It talks about how Lombardi fought pressure by the NFL to not draft African American players in the first round, and also how he fought the intervention by the NFL (rozelle)
in the marriages of players who wanted to marry someone of a different race. I'm not comfortable with the use of the terms "black" and "white" here. But read the whole article and see how Lombardi fought discrimination at a tumultuous time in our history. I remember reading once (in the book "When Pride Still Mattered") that Lombardi told the players in the locker room that if they gave any of the African American players, or the gay players any crap, they'd be off the team, and quick. I also remember reading in that book that Lombardi's brother was gay. And there was an incident where when he was with the Giants as an assistant, he overheard someone in charge say that "There'll never be a head coach on this team whose name ends in a vowel." I think since Lombardi experienced discrimination himself, he would do what he could to stop it.

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20091128/PKR01/91128026/1058/PKR01/-Lombardi-Legacy--explores-legendary-coach-s-role-as-racial-pioneer

"EDITOR’S NOTE: In their new book “The Lombardi Legacy,” author Royce Boyles and former Packers linebacker Dave Robinson attempted to provide rare behind-the-scenes glimpses of Vince Lombardi. Boyles interviewed dozens of former players, coaches and others associated with the former Green Bay Packers coach and general manager who led the team to five National Football League championships in the 1960s. The following are excerpts from the book about Lombardi being a racial pioneer in Green Bay and the NFL.


History has not given Vince Lombardi credit for his masterful managing of race relations during a troubled time in America. Without fanfare, he met the issue head on. The landscape was rich with racial land mines in the 1950’s and ‘60’s, but there was not a hint of difficulty during his watch.

Without incident, he drafted and traded for black football players in ratios as high as or higher than any team in the league. Again, he was not going to let an issue undermine team unity or keep him from getting excellent players regardless of color."

[tilsammans]

1. K&R!

From this Giants fan.

:applause:

[Dinger]

2. Thank You, And When I Was At The NFC Championship Game A Couple Of Years Ago,

the Giants fans were nothing but classy, AND fun. My Packers lost, but at least I can say i was at a championship game. Still had a good time.

[Joe Chi Minh]

3. K&R