In 1963 Michigan State Head Coach Duffy Daugherty gave 23 African American young men the opportunity of a lifetime. The | dG1fLUVFUDZxbF9uR00
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Short filmTranscript
00:00 [crowd cheering]
00:02 [soft music]
00:05 - The Civil Rights Movement was not just about marches
00:08 and sit-ins and boycotts and protests.
00:10 It was also about confronting segregation
00:12 in different spaces.
00:13 In the Michigan State teams of the 1960s,
00:16 they confronted segregation on the field physically.
00:18 They challenged the color line in numerous ways.
00:21 [soft music]
00:24 - Duffy Doherty faced criticism.
00:27 There were people all across America
00:29 who were watching this and saying,
00:31 "Where is this going?"
00:32 Well, it was going to lead to a national champion.
00:35 - It isn't very often that you can put
00:37 that many superstars together and have it work.
00:42 But it worked and it worked well.
00:44 - The part that really reflected
00:45 what this great experiment of Duffy Doherty's was all about
00:48 was the National Football League draft.
00:50 For one school to have the number one,
00:52 number two, number five, number eight picks,
00:55 unprecedented.
00:56 - I never really developed an appreciation for football.
00:59 My dad didn't show me the game.
01:01 He didn't sit me down in front of the TV
01:03 and explain how football works.
01:04 - I wish we could have had the moments
01:10 that we're having now when I was a kid.
01:12 - We might have a chance to make up for that.
01:15 - We had something very powerful
01:19 and it did expose me to things that,
01:22 had I not played, I wouldn't have been able to experience.
01:25 - We wanted to prove to ourselves
01:27 and to everybody around the country
01:29 that we could be the best.
01:31 Without that opportunity, I never would have made it
01:33 because of the segregation.
01:35 - When our players meet a guy like Gene Washington,
01:42 there's a little bit of a feeling of awe.
01:44 Speaks about their past and the history
01:46 that they've brought here.
01:47 - Had it not been for them, we wouldn't be here.
01:50 (upbeat music)
01:52 - The idea of being offered a chance
01:59 to be a part of a big community,
02:01 a big family, meant a whole lot.
02:03 (upbeat music)
02:06 (upbeat music)
02:08 (upbeat music)
02:12 (upbeat music)
02:15 (upbeat music)
02:18 (music fades)
02:20 you