What if All of the University of Florida’s Black Football Players Entered the Transfer Portal?

The transfer portal is a relatively new thing since 2018, allowing NCAA athletes to change schools without losing a year of eligibility. There are myriad reasons players choose to transfer: a chance for more playing time, perceived better chances for exposure or to turn professional, a chance for more NIL money, or dissatisfaction with a program or its coaches. I submit a program or, in this case, a state government that demonstrates it doesn’t mean you well is reason enough as well. Historically speaking, it wasn’t that long ago that UF began accepting Black athletes. In 1968, Florida gave a football scholarship to its first Black football player, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_George_(student_athlete)" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Leonard George</a>. The school had only integrated its law school ten years earlier after <a href="https://www.law.ufl.edu/areas-of-study/experiential-learning/clinics/virgil-d-hawkins-story" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Virgil Hawkins</a> appealed his denial to the Florida Supreme Court. A somewhat surprising source described a bit of UF history in a <a href="https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/the-university-of-floridas-racist-legacy-runs-deep-6549472" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Miami newspaper</a>: <a href="https://medium.com/afrosapiophile/what-if-all-of-the-university-of-floridas-black-football-players-entered-the-transfer-portal-a98ee15bb96b">Click Here</a>