Jackie Robinson helped integrate professional sports as the first Black person in Major League Baseball. But even Robinson himself admitted that he was nowhere near the athlete that his old college teammate was. Who was his teammate?
Kenny Washington was the first Black athlete to break the color barrier in all four of the major professional sports. He did so after WWII when he was signed by a team in the NFL in 1946. But there's a reason we don’t hear more about him.
Acknowledging Washington would force the NFL to admit to an untold story they’ve been trying to avoid for all these decades.
In 1933, owners decided to ban Black football players. They didn’t want Black men to take away job opportunities from their white counterparts during the Great Depression. But Washington knew that the ban was wrong, and that he was too talented to not be in the league. Pressured by his fans and certain NFL owners, Washington signed with the LA Rams.
Washington never backed down from the racism he experienced and he paved the way for future Black football players. Remember, no jobs are off limits for us, no matter what society says.