Ahead of last week’s game against South Carolina, Georgia football honored the first five Black football players who integrated the team in 1971. Larry West, Chuck Kinnebrew, Horace King, Clarence Pope and Richard Appleby were all on hand as monuments of the men were unveiled near Sanford Stadium. They were also presented on the field before the game alongside their head coach, Vince Dooley.

Fifty years later, the impact of what the First Five did continues to reverberate throughout Georgia athletics. Many athletes have followed in their footsteps by voicing their opinions on issues of social justice. The five men who desegregated Georgia football believe there is still progress to be made in the athletic department.

Remembering the past

When the First Five came to campus in 1971, they knew they would be put under a microscope on and off the field. The players had to make sure they were good role models so that the school could recruit other Black players, Kinnebrew said.

All five had to manage school and football while also experiencing racism as they made history at Georgia.

“One of my most disappointing moments when I showed up at University of Georgia campus was when a hangman’s noose and a Dixie flag were hung out in front of me,” King said. “That kind of singed me a little bit, but it wasn’t anything brand new growing up there in Athens.”

For Kinnebrew, watching Georgia football play now reminds him of the importance of what he and the other four players did.

Currently, Georgia has 130 players listed on its football roster for the 2021 season. Many of them are Black.

“When I see these guys run out on the field today, I know what it’s all about, and I know the role that we played in it,” Kinnebrew said. “And I hope that other people will have an appreciation for what we went through.”

Football players have made their voices heard on social justice issues. Last summer, in the wake of protests across the nation after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Georgia football team demonstrated on campus outside of the Holmes-Hunter Academic Building. Players have also been outspoken on social media about racial justice issues.

Progress at Georgia and in the SEC

In the half a century since the First Five, there has been a lack of progress in hiring Black coaches and administrative figures at Georgia, King said.

“If you look around in both major college sports and even in the NFL, there are not a lot of Black head coaches,” King said. “Though I think there are a lot of people out there ready to step up to those positions in those jobs.”

Bryan McClendon is the only Black head coach in Georgia football history. McClendon was named the interim head coach for the TaxSlayer Bowl on Jan. 2, 2016. That was the only game he worked as head coach.

Currently at Georgia, there are 11 coaches on the football coaching staff. Four of them are Black.

The first Black head coach at Georgia was Tubby Smith, who was hired in 1995 and led the men’s basketball program for two seasons. In the 26 years since then, there have been only three other Black head coaches, including Joni Taylor, who currently serves as the women’s basketball head coach.

“I applaud [athletic director] Josh [Brooks], and the rest of the athletic department for doing the right thing as far as making sure that diversity, equity and inclusion is a part of the overall strategy,” Kinnebrew said.

According to the NCAA Race and Gender Demographics Database, 57% of football players in the SEC in 2020 were Black. There are no Black head coaches in the conference after Vanderbilt fired Derek Mason during the 2020 season.

In July, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey announced a new bylaw for the conference that will help guide hiring processes to be more inclusive, particularly for the positions of head coach, athletics director and senior woman administrator, which is the highest-ranking woman in a school’s athletic department.

The bylaw requires each SEC school to contact the SEC commissioner’s office before starting a search for athletics director, head coach and senior woman administrator candidates. Schools will “employ intentional efforts” to find candidates from historically underrepresented groups that are outside of the professional and social networks of people making hiring decisions.

Every school in the conference has to provide written certification to Sankey on an annual basis to prove compliance with the bylaw.

While the First Five acknowledge there has been improvement at Georgia, they hope efforts to improve diversity will continue into the future.

“I think that there’s still [an] opportunity for the university, for the athletic department to continue along the lines of making sure that there is a diverse organization,” West said.

Printed with permission from the Red & Black independent student media organization based in Athens, Ga.; redandblack.com/sports