Lost Champions: The players who integrated the National Football League

KALW | By Ben Trefny

Published November 29, 2016 at 4:57 PM PST

Cover photo of Gretchen Atwood's book, Lost champions: Four Men, Two Teams, and the Breaking of Pro Football’s Color Line.";

Colin Kaepernick has been using his platform in the NFL to call attention to racial inequities. But the NFL itself has not always been equitable for people of all races.

That’s the subject of a book by San Francisco author Gretchen Atwood called, “Lost Champions: Four Men, Two Teams, and the Breaking of Pro Football’s Color Line”.

She spoke with KALW’s News Director Ben Trefny.

ATWOOD: It was very hard because they were faced with a lot of abuse knowing that they were potential targets for anyone who wanted to make a statement against integration.

Click the audio player above to listen to the complete interview.

KALW News

Ben Trefny

I joined KALW in 2003. As Executive News Editor and then News Director, I helped our news department win numerous regional and national awards for long- and short-form journalism. I've also helped create numerous training programs — for teenagers, incarcerated people, and early-career journalists — and have taught hundreds of audio producers. I served as interim Executive Director for nearly two years. My work is currently focused on creating original live events, programming, and building partnerships with like-minded organizations.

See stories by Ben Trefny