On the TUNNEYSIDE of SPORTS January 4, 2016 #574 Up Next…Moving forward as a T*E*A*M!
This story was told to me by Jack Kemp, former Congressman and NFL QB. Kemp passed away 2009. He related, “In 1961, when I was quarterback and captain of the San Diego Chargers, we were scheduled to play the Houston Oilers at their home field for the AFL Championship. Traditionally, the night before the game, coach Sid Gilman took the entire team to a movie. Shortly after we sat down in our seats, I noticed that Paul Lowe, Ernie Wright, Ernie Ladd and Charlie McNeil were missing. I asked around and discovered they had been sent to the “blacks-only” balcony. When I told Coach Gilman, he stood immediately and said, ‘Gather the team. Get all the guys. We’re outa here.’ In a silent, but powerful demonstration of our belief in equality, living and working as a team, we walked out as a team. I was proud of Coach Gilman, but so much more needed to be done.”
“Four years later, after I had joined the Buffalo Bills and been elected captain, we were at the 1965 AFL All-Star Game in New Orleans. Our black teammates had trouble getting a taxi or even basic service at restaurants. Here again, the wisdom of team unity, and, admittedly, the popularity of pro football, gave us the leverage needed to combat discrimination. We discussed the situation at our team meeting and agreed to boycott the game as a statement against the racial climate in the city. As a result, the game was moved to Houston, which by that time had made progress toward more equal treatment in public accommodations. This was the first boycott of a city by any professional sporting event in history.”
“We didn’t tolerate bigotry on the field, either. Any difference in race, creed and class immediately dissolved in the common aim of a team win. Divisiveness only weakens a team. It has no place in the huddle, on or off the field. Each team requires unity. A team has to move as one unit, one force, with each person understanding and assisting the roles of his teammates. If a team doesn’t to that, whatever the reason, it goes down in defeat. You win as a team, as a family.”
Jack, a lifelong friend and colleague, served 18 years as a congressman for Western New York’s 31st congressional district. He then became Housing Secretary in President George H.W. Bush’s cabinet, where he continued to practice his T*E*A*M philosophy by helping those in need of housing throughout our country.
Will you help our country achieve the unity that Congressman/QB Kemp practiced so fervently?
To contact Jim go to www.jimtunney.com or email him jim@jimtunney.com.
“Another 101 Best of TUNNEYSIDE of SPORTS” (new) will be available soon. To order: email him at the above address. $20. Includes autograph and shipping.
