Beloved Coach Calls for County Unity

Retired coach William “Buck” Godfrey greets well-wishers on June 3 after receiving a
special recognition award from the DeKalb School Board. PHOTO BY KEN WATTS

From Crossroads News:  July 7, 2013:  Legendary Southwest DeKalb High School football coach William “Buck” Godfrey made a heartfelt appeal for an end to racial polarization in the county as he accepted an award from the DeKalb School Board on June 3.

Godfrey retired in February after 34 years as an English teacher and head football coach at SWD.

He said to face the facts.

“Our county needs to come together as one with one vision, several voices combined into one voice to make this county – I’m not going to say like it used to be – but better than it used to be,” he said during a special recognition ceremony at the start of the monthly board meeting.

Godfrey, who is the county’s winningest coach, said that when he started coaching in 1983, it was tough.

“We were a black school and we had to play white teams,” he recalled. “And I hope we’ve gone beyond that, but I still see north [predominantly white], and I see south [mostly black]. It’s just bad that we’ve gotten into that kind of situation. It all has to do with the color of our skin.”

Godfrey said if we could “ever get by pigmentation and start thinking about implementation and the gift God has given us in the young, beautiful minds of young people,” the county would be much better off.

A School Board proclamation presented to Godfrey praised his monumental influence in developing youths into productive adults.

“No other individual has ever been head football coach at the same school in DeKalb County for more than 20 years,” the proclamation said.

Godfrey won more games than any other coach in DeKalb history, finishing with a 273-89-1 record. He led SWD to the state Class AAAA championship in 1995 and to the playoffs 26 of his 30 years as coach. Godfrey led SWD to the state semifinals seven times and to the championship game in 1990.

“An amazing 279 of coach Godfrey’s players signed college football scholarships and 211 of them earned college degrees,” the proclamation said. “He was also an accomplished English teacher and published author.”

Godfrey said that even with all the social strife in the county, young people’s needs haven’t changed.

He called on adults to set a positive example.

“Kids want discipline,” he said. “Kids want love. Kids want direction. Kids want focus. Kids want heroes and we’ve got to give them that. If we could ever get back to some sort of basis in this county to set the tone and be upfront as leaders and come together as one … God blesses effort and if you pray to your God and believe in what you’re praying for, God will answer. And, again, I hope to see this county come back together – not like it used to be – but much better.”

Thank you Coach Godfrey.  We couldn't have said it better ourselves. The more people we can get to see the light on this subject and reform their way of thinking, the better we will be able to make our schools, our neighborhoods and our lives.

          - Get the Cell Out - ATL

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