"Go Back to the Projects!"

The University of Alabama (UA) has a storied football program, but not always one to emulate. Legendary coach Bear Bryant is credited for integrating the program in 1971 after USC walloped them at home in 1970, utilizing Black players Alabama wouldn't allow. Though Alabama didn't integrate college football, he was proclaimed the Branch Rickey of college football when, in reality, he was trying to keep up with other programs. He'd won three national titles in the 1960s, but Alabama football had become mediocre, and there were calls for Bryant to be replaced.

Alabama started its college football program in 1892, but it took 79 years to integrate. You could blame some of those years on Governor George Wallace, who threatened to withhold funds from the state school if they played Black players. Bryant is heralded for ultimately integrating the program, but many felt he could have done more.

“When Bryant could have made a great difference, he did very little and did not really dissent from the biases of the region. His failure to stand apart from the worst of the region’s culture diminished him as a man… We know that he knew better, that he knew that what he was going along with was wrong. Ultimately, Bryant did not take on George Wallace when he should have … at least, not back when it really mattered.” — David Halberstam

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