There’s little debate over the fact that sports of any kind and the culture in which sporting events are played are inextricably linked. Such is the case with Upton Bell who, before being general manager of the New England Patriots was an NFL scout for the Baltimore Colts in the 60’s, when the fight for civil rights tore at the very fabric of our nation.
Bell traversed the Jim Crow south in his bright white Lincoln Continental looking for the next football phenom. As a scout hopscotching through the bible belt, Bell says his eyes were opened to the prejudice and the fight for equality during the tumultuous decade that changed history forever.
As we observe Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy and black history month in February, sadly, Bell says the battle for equality is still being waged all across this country.
