Bill Willis and Marion Motley – Willis, Motley and social injustice
By STEVE KING
What would Browns’ Pro Football Hall of Famers Bill Willis and Marion Motley say about what is going on with social injustice today, and how pro sports should react to it, if they were still alive?
Kevin Stefanski encourages 'dialogue and unity' as players swap practice time for social justice discussion
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 28, 2020
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Willis, a middle guard from Columbus East High School and Ohio State, where in 1942 he played on the school’s first national championship team, and Motley, a fullback and Canton McKinley High School product, permanently broke the color barrier not just in football but also all of pro sports when in 1946 they played in the Browns’ first-ever regular season game.
It was historic, certainly, but it wasn’t easy. Those two men went through a lot and were forced to take abuse from opposing players and not say a word, for if they complained or, worse yet, fought back, then it would set the whole movement back years. Head coach Paul Brown hand-picked Willis and Motley for this role because he knew they had the personality to handle it. He was right.
It was easier – not easy, just easier — when they were with their teammates, but it was much tougher otherwise. The general public was not always as kind, ready to embrace them.
Now, all these types of things are bring brought to light. People of color are demanding it. They’re sick and tired of being treated like second-class citizens, and they absolutely, positively refuse to take it anymore. Enough is enough, and too much is too much.
I think – actually, I know – that Willis and Motley would be eager and willing to lead the way in this present-day effort. They would be thrilled with the freedom to speak their minds, something they definitely did not have at any point not just in their playing careers, but also in their lives.
The players of today can rest assured that the spirits of both Bill Wills and Marion Motley are with them every step of the way, every day.
