Ivie Moore and Black Football Protests

Pine Bluff’s Ivie Moore was one of the University of Wyoming’s “Black 14” players dismissed from the squad for protesting racial discrimination in October 1969. The Cowboys were on a winning streak when one of their black players, Mel Hamilton, learned of a protest by the university’s Black Student Alliance ahead of the Brigham Young University game. The year before, black players had complained about racial epithets used by BYU players. They resolved to wear black armbands during the game in support of student demonstrations. Coach Lloyd Eaton was furious and fired all fourteen black players. The “Black 14” were never reinstated, although the policy against protests did change. You can find out more about the history of black athletes in Arkansas in journalist Evin Demirel’s recently published collection.