Football Legend Ernie Davis Statue Sartorially Ahead of Its Time
Posted on September 18, 2008
Filed Under News, Off The Bench, The Daily Prereq | By Nikki Martinez
Every athlete dreams of leaving a legacy. Ernie Davis, the first black man to win the Heisman Trophy and subject of 2008 film The Express, is being honored by his alma mater in a very concrete way. To coincide with the film’s world premiere, Syracuse University erected a bronze statue of Davis. Perhaps unsurprisingly the statue depicts Davis donning the ubiquitous shoe of today’s modern-day athlete: Nikes. Problem is, the Associated Press reports, Davis received his Heisman in 1961 but even the earliest days of Nike wasn’t formed until 1964. Is this an artist faux pas or a careless oversight? Says a Syracuse spokesperson,
The sculptor realized there was an era-specific discrepancy with the shoes and the helmet… [but there wasn’t enough time] to take corrective action before this past weekend’s activities.
Whatever happened to ‘it’s the thought that counts’? Or maybe we should think about what Ernie would’ve wanted. Syracuse sophomore defensive tackle Anthony Perkins muses, “I believe if Ernie was here today, he’d have a pair of Nikes on.” Amen, Anthony. Amen.
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4 Responses to “Football Legend Ernie Davis Statue Sartorially Ahead of Its Time”
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[…] Ernie Davis, the first black man to win the Heisman Trophy and subject of 2008 film The Express, is being honored by his alma mater in a very concrete way. To coincide with the film’s world premiere, Syracuse University erected a bronze …Original post by Nikki Martinez […]
How is a quote from a current SU player who never knew Ernie Davis the final word on what he would have really wanted?
The thought is nice. But to put six different corporate logos on a statue of a person who had nothing to do with that corporation is a gross defilement of the purity of Ernie Davis’ legacy. It’s no different than if there was a huge IBM sticker on his forehead.
When we consider the legacy of the great Ernie Davis who demonstrated humanitarian values in all of the games he ever played, then to put a Nike in his hand and associate him with a corporation that has exploited workers with pitifully low wages in third world countries, it becomes a sacrilege to Ernie Davis’ memory and all that he stood for.
I knew the name ERNIE DAVIS, I never knew or seen him in
person. I was only a young teen ager.
I love football, and one time I made 3 touchdowns in POP WARNER,
and threw the balL down in the endzone, and the the ref say you’re
not in the NFL,
BUT A LITTLE BOY DID ASK ME FOR MY AUTOGRAPH.
My point is after watching the ENIE DAVIS STORY, I watch it every time it’s on cable. I WISH I COULD HAVE CARRIED HIS HELMENT, SHOES OR WHATEVER. GOD BLESS ERNIE DAVIS.
GOD BLESS ERNIE DAVIS. I LOVE ERNIE DAVIS.
I’M 56 YEARS OLD.
THANK YOU FOR HOPEFULLY ACCEPTING MY E-MAIL.
STANLEY R. CLYMER
914-631-3230
.