Vince Lombardi is, of course, known for being one of the greatest coaches in the history of professional sports and for having his name emblazoned on the Super Bowl trophy. But every year I am surprised by how many of my high school students are unaware of another legacy of his: creating a culture free of prejudice.
There are lots of stories of Lombardi pushing back against ingrained cultures of racism while he was coaching the Packers. Green Bay was an especially difficult place for many black athletes to come to; an extremely white region that was by far the smallest city in the NFL, many Packer players would stand out like a sore thumb around town. Lombardi made it a team policy to forbid players and staff from going to any restaurant, bar, or other business that denied services to black players. He also served as a minister to offer a blessing for an interracial marriage between Lional Aldridge and his wife. And at a time when few coaches would put black men on their staff, Lombardi gave opportunities that many of them might not have received elsewhere.
But in Pride Month, it's important to also remember Lombardi as an ally to the gay community at a time when being gay was considered almost unspeakably horrific. This was influenced in part by Lombardi having a gay younger brother.
The most famous example of this is a story about Lombardi saying of a gay player, "If I hear one of you people make reference to his manhood, you'll be out of here before your ass hits the ground."
Others who played for and worked with Lombardi believed he knew that a couple Washington executives and players were also gay, and that Lombardi protected them.
As much as all of his victories and championships cemented his legacy, this only further supports his legacy as one of the great figures in sports history.