Paving the way

The locker room was divided. The dark-skinned players sat side-by-side, opposite their white teammates before the game.\nThat was the arrangement of the IU football team when George Taliaferro, now 80, led it to its only undefeated Big Ten championship, in 1945. \nThough he was an All-American running back and a leader who played a large role in the team's success, Taliaferro, who is black, said there were limits to what he was allowed to do at IU. He said he couldn't live in the dorms, and the only two things he did at IU was go to class and play football.\n"I faced a problem that I think still exists in today's sport," Taliaferro said. "I had to be twice as good as the white players to make the team and retain a spot. This format resulted in me playing with guys who had never played against or with a black person."\nIU would not be the last place Taliaferro saw this type of separation between his teammates.\nTaliaferro was the first African-American player ever drafted by an NFL team when the Chicago Bears selected him in the 13th round of the 1949 NFL draft. He instead elected to sign with the Los Angeles Dons of the All American Football League. \n"The pros weren't any better than the IU locker room, because money was involved," Taliaferro said.\nHe returned to the NFL the following year with the New York Yanks and participated in three Pro Bowls during his six NFL seasons. \n"I did what was contrary to their desire," Taliaferro said. "The system encouraged me to be the best that I could and also let me know that I was doing something right because the opposition was there and I exceeded it."\nTaliaferro said he and many other African-Americans of his era have helped today's athletes, but he doesn't agree with everything they've done with the opportunity.\n"There's no question that the guys of my era have paved the way for today's players," Taliaferro said. "But there is one thing in today's game that I'm sure the men I played with would have a problem with, and that is the entertainment value that has been added to the game.\n"Terrell Owens is a disgrace to the game of football," he said, "and what Reggie Bush did in the NFC championship just made white people think that we are clowns, which they already do."\nThe trials that Taliaferro has been through in his life helped shape his views on society, and also led him to be a mentor to today's youth. He has worked as a teacher, social worker and administrator, and he said he always strives to make his colleagues and students better people. \n"I always like to think that people have become better than they were before because I was around them," he said. \nHe said he tries to use the lessons learned through football to improve the lives of his family.\n"Having the will to prepare is your greatest asset," he said. "And that is something I try to instill in my children because I know that mind-set was what propelled me into success"