https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/fifty-years-after-the-black-14-were-banished-wyoming-football-reckons-with-the-past/2019/11/30/fb7e9286-e93d-11e9-9c6d-436a0df4f31d_story.html

The team had 14 black players who had been taunted and intentionally hit in ways more likely to cause knee injuries, and when they walked off the field at the end of their previous game in provo, the field sprinklers were turned on, soaking them.

They wanted to wear black armbands durning the game with the number '14' to signify the 14 black players on the Wyoming team.

There were a lot of protests in 1968 and 69, as you may recall, and this one seems pretty tame. They were all thrown off the team, and generally mocked and harassed.

Fast forward 50 years. The story is quite long (Sunday feature story), and probably behind a paywall. If you can access it, it is quite a moving story. It took a lot of work to get the two sides together (UW and the dismissed players), and it is quite the tale.

Quoting from the end of the story:
“The way that the students gravitated toward us when we were on campus and we were on tours and doing panel discussions, they were interested in the true story,” recalled Gibson, a fullback. “That felt good.”

On Sept. 13, the Friday night before game day, the Black 14 and their families joined university officials for a special dinner, where Burman stood up and read a letter he and Nichols had signed: an official apology.

“To have your collegiate careers derailed as both students and athletes is a tragedy,” the letter read. “Please accept this sincere apology from the University of Wyoming for the unfair way you were treated and for the hardships that treatment created for you. We want to welcome you home as valued members of this institution, and hope you accept our old Wyoming saying, ‘Once a Cowboy, always a Cowboy.’ ”

The players were stunned, some moved to tears. While a few had guessed they might receive an apology, no one had told them for sure that it was coming.

The following morning, the Black 14 were invited to the football team’s pregame breakfast, where football coach Craig Bohl welcomed them back to the team.

“These guys got their jerseys taken away from them,” Bohl told his players that morning at the team breakfast. “So we’re going to give them back to them.”

They then joined, arm-in-arm with current players, for the team’s ceremonial “Cowboy Walk” march through the tailgate and into the stadium, and then, at halftime, were brought onto the field as the crowd roared.


It is so rare to hear an actual apology these days that I wanted to quote this one with some surrounding text for context, just so you'd know what one looks like.

Now that the LDS Church has admitted that their former priesthood ban was not doctrinal, but a result of early American racism, wouldn't it be nice if they issued an actual apology? A real apology?

Of course, if they did that, then they'd be expected to apologize to the LGBTQ community.
And Mountain Meadows Massacre descendants.
And women.
And all the people born into polygamy thanks to Joseph and Brigham.

The Mormons do have a talent for being on the wrong side of history, don't they?

And don't hold your breath on any apologies forthcoming. Hell will freeze over first.

At least the University of Wyoming both had a conscience and acted on it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/01/2019 04:14PM by Brother Of Jerry.

Thank you for this, BoJ.

It is great that Wyoming did this, but the truth is those 14 students were probably irreparably harmed. One or two might have had NFL futures, a few others may have washed out of college, and most are likely to have suffered significant ostracization and consequent difficulties. An apology now is meaningful, very meaningful, but it doesn't compensate for what the players' heroic efforts cost them.

And no, the Lord's church and the Lord's university won't go anywhere near an apology. Because Mormonism has far less sense of responsibility, far less moral character, than most civic organizations.

and also, BYU / ChurchCo has a crack team of lawyers & PR folks!!

It was sad reading how these players were treated at BYU.

I also found it interesting how the pre-1978 racist doctrines were referred to as a "policy"--seems the PR team is earning their stripes again. I get that a reporter will probably not know how else to describe it, but when the matter was clearly spelled out by prophets and apostles in books like: "Doctrines of Salvation" and "Mormon Doctrine" and canonized scripture like the Book of Abraham what else is to be done but call it doctrine, teaching etc.

Thank you for posting. I would have missed this lump in your throat article if you hadn't.

What Mormons and many in this country have done ( won't name a name) is left apologies and actually asking for forgiveness in the dust. Wonderful to see this unusual instance happen. Gentiles show the way?

Every night in my neck of the woods I see another hit and run. Makes me think of the way the Mormons and their no apology policy is the same. Hit and run.

Oaks and the others. Proud arrogant men for a proud arrogant church and university.

Proud and arrogant and yet timid and cowardly at the same time. They daren't take a stand on moral issues until compelled to do so by gentile society.

Not only are they reactive rather than prophetic; they are also, in their determination to revere the past and their fellow apostles, resolute defenders of atavistic practices whose evil is apparent for all to see.

Stand for something. Stand for racism, stand for misogyny, and lengthen your stride in the battle against gender and marriage equality. They stand like a boulder that crashed down from a mountain and now blocks society from moving forward on the simplest, most widely accepted moral issues.

It's great to have been a Mormon, no?