Outrage over Kaepernick reminds ex-SU football players of 'Syracuse 8' protests

This file photo shows some of the 'Syracuse 8' players involved in the 1970 boycott of the SU football team. Left to right are A. Alif Muhammad, Greg Allen, John Lobon, Clarence McGill, Duane Walker and Dana Harrell.(Courtesy of Syracuse University)

The continued controversy over Colin Kaepernick and NFL players protesting during the national anthem is reminding some former Syracuse football players of their own protests more than three decades ago.

In 1970, nine members of the SU football team -- Greg Allen, John Godbolt, Bucky McGill, Duane Walker, John Lobon, Ron Womack, Dana Harrell, Richard Bulls and Al Newton, who later changed his name to A. Alif Muhammad -- walked out of a spring practice to protest racial discrimination on campus. The group, who became incorrectly known as the "Syracuse 8," shared a list of grievances seeking equal treatment for all student-athletes and a more diverse coaching staff.

Allen told Boston radio station WBUR in an interview on Saturday that their complaints included a lack of playing time, such as against other schools that weren't integrated; black players were told they couldn't date white women; and not being allowed to take advanced courses while on the team, while white athletes allegedly had no such policy.

"It's dehumanizing. My talents, my own personal desires and wishes and goals and dreams, take a back seat to this thing called race or racism," Allen said.

The group also wanted SU to hire at least one black assistant coach, which Allen said got unfairly emphasized by the national media at the time. Outrage ensued; they were suspended from the team and some of their teammates threatened boycotts if they were allowed back.

"Some of the fans threatened to boycott the games if we were ever allowed to come back. Where have we heard that before?" Allen told WBUR, referring to Kaepernick.

Kaepernick was a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers quarterback when he took a knee during the "Star Spangled Banner" to call attention to police brutality and racial inequality in the U.S.


Kaepernick's protest sparked outrage as many accused him of disrespecting the American flag, the U.S. military and the United States itself. Other NFL players have joined in taking a knee this season, but Kaepernick remains blacklisted and hasn't played since last year.

The nine members of the Syracuse 8 similarly saw their athletic careers end, despite efforts by Jim Brown to reach out to coach Ben Schwartzwalder. They sat out the following season, but were allowed to keep their scholarships and graduate -- eight of the nine left SU with a degree.

Syracuse University officially recognized nine former players for their courageous stand against racial discrimination in 2006. Former National Football League star Art Monk, left, a 1980 Syracuse alumnus, handed them their long-denied letterman jackets at a halftime ceremony during the Syracuse-Louisville college football game in Syracuse, N.Y., Saturday, Oct. 21, 2006. Pictured, from left, are Art Monk, Ron Womack, Duane Walker, Alif Muhammed, Syracuse Chancellor Nancy Cantor, Clarence McGill, Dana Harrell, John Lobon, Greg Allen, and Richard Bulls.

An investigation by Syracuse University later found, though largely "unintentional," racism was prevalent within the university and the athletic department. SU revised its dress code, allowing athletes to have longer hair and wear traditional African clothes, and sought to hire more minorities for the coaching staff.

The "Syracuse 8" were honored in 2006 with the Chancellor's Medal, among the highest honors at the university, but they lost out on potential pro football careers at a time when SU was known as a football powerhouse, thanks to prominent athletes in the '60s like Jim Brown and Ernie Davis. The group received their long-denied letterman jackets from fellow alumnus Art Monk and an official apology from the school.

"We made a commitment, and we thought what we were doing was right," Muhammad told The Post-Standard in 2006. "And if you do the right thing, the right thing will happen."

Harrell, who now lives in the Boston area and coached Muhammed's son on a Pop Warner football team, told WBUR that it may take time for Kaepernick to be similarly vindicated.

"'The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice.' Dr. [Martin Luther] King gave that answer when he was asked, how long did he think it would take for African-Americans to get full rights here in America?" Harrell said. "And he said, 'How long? Not long.' So that's my answer."