Not to mention the racist JoPa who wouldn't give a African American a shot at qb in the 80's since "PSU isn't ready for that". Camelot? Cripes
I am not here to defend Paternos actions in the crime scenario of late.
On the other hand your statement is not correct. Here are the facts.
1970 was the year of the black players boycott at SU. At the heart of the players grievances was the perception of discrimination by Ben. This was an absolute mess at SU. A chain link fence was quickly built around the perimeter of the field at Archbold. On game day police patroling with German Shepards at the stadium were common place along with mounted police. It was a very chilling environment.
For Syracuse fans the players participating in the boycott were persona non grata. Be assured the white SU fans were not cheering them on. It was ugly.
In 1970 there were very few black quarterbacks in what we now call D1 ball. I can recall there was one at USC. This dearth of black QB's was clearly discriminatory. And, truthfully, many fans did not want their team to have a black QB. That us the way it was in those days.
That year Paterno was going to start a black QB by the name of Mike Cooper. It is sad to say but many fans did not like this idea at all. In later years Paterno disclosed he had serious concerns about Coopers safety as there was no shortage of hate mail.
But, Paterno stuck to his guns feeling Cooper was his best QB.
The manpower depleted SU team travelled to State College that year as a heavy underdog as result of the racial turmoil. At the time it was national news...not the good kind.
Cooper started that game and played horribly. He was replaced by Bob Parsons who had a long career as a NFL punter. After the game Cooper was brutalized by the fan base. In this regard the fans were not ready for a black QB. I don't know if it was performance related or if Cooper had safety concerns, but I don't recall him playing again.
So, Paterno , in fact, was progressive about having a black QB before most other coaches saw the light
I think I just lost my free adjustment!
As a side note SU won that game in a huge upset.
