How Vince Lombardi defended himself against discrimination

Green Bay, Wisconsin (WBAY) – Known for her successful career as NFL coach, Vince Lombardi broke many barriers, including help to integrate the professional football game.

In 1959, Vince Lombardi joined the Green Bay Packers as a team chief coach and shortly after changing the way the football game was seen.

Lombardi was a leader in the integration of NFL in the 1960s, with most Packers defensive players are black.

The Packers historian, Cliff Christl, says that the defense played an important role in the success of the Packers.

“There was no doubt that the strongest of the two units in the Packers of 1965-67 was the defense, not the offensive,” said Christl.

Players like Willie Davis, Bob Jeter, Herb Adderly and Willie Wood were the first of many black players to join the Packers during the Lombardi era.

While the team then celebrated historical victories, the Dave Robinson supporter says that, outside the countryside, some players faced a hard reality, which contributed racial discrimination problems to Lombardi’s attention and attention.

“They opened the door and saw us and said, Oh, I forgot to tell them that my wife rented the place and a guy just left and told us that I regret not to have rented to the African Americans,” Robinson said.

“Lombardi connected to Norman Miller, a prominent businessman from Green Bay and began to press politicians in Madison to approve the fair housing law,” said Christl.

Taking a step in the right direction, in 1965, Governor Warren Knowles signed a feather housing law that prohibits discrimination in the sale, rent or financing of housing.

But Robinson says that traveling for games out of place was a brutal reminder of the racial climate at that time.

“I remember that we walked in the field was like 5 or 6 black boys in the team and we obtained some negative things and, of course, when we went down to the south it was terrible,” Robinson said.

In line with Lombardi’s beliefs, when possible, Packers sometimes stayed away from certain soccer fields to avoid staying in segregated hotels.

Playing 10 seasons with the Packers, Robinson says that over the years he saw a change for better and appreciates the support of Lombardi coach through everything.

“We knew that if we had a problem we could knock on the door and talk to coach Lombardi, and he would have an answer for you. I did not want to have two teams a white team and a black team. I wanted a team. I wanted the Green Bay Packers, ”said Robinson.

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