Grambling State University, the historically Black educational institution in Louisiana, has announced the establishment of the Doug Williams Center for the Study of Race and Politics in Sports. The aim of the new center is to engage public education and develop potential social and political solutions to issues concerning professional sports.
The Doug Williams Center will serve as an academic hub for understanding how the intersection of professional sports, politics, and race can be used to progress social justice among other key objectives. The Center will be supported by the National Football League Campus Connection program and will collaborate with the Eddie G. Robinson Museum on the university’s campus. Coach Robinson guided the Grambling football team to 408 wins during his long career.
Rick Gallot, president of Grambling State University, stated that “the sports legacy left by the great Coach Eddie Robinson and so many others makes GSU uniquely positioned as a home for this type of education. It’s never been clearer that these conversations are essential to making a lasting impact on our athletes and the politics of the sports industry.”
Grambling State has sent more than 200 players to the NFL, more than any other historically Black college and university. One of those players was Doug Williams, who was the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl. Four Grambling players are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
