What Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman said about representing black coaches on MLK Day in Ohio State game
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With Monday's matchup against Ohio State, Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman is set to become the first African-American head coach to lead his team into a national championship game at the highest level of college football. That he's doing this in Atlanta, the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., on the day that honors the legendary civil rights figure isn't lost on the 39-year-old.
![[Freeman's historic moment will take place in Atlanta, the birthplace of King, on MLK Day]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/20/15/94299675-14305109-image-a-25_1737385578076.jpg)
'He made change through his actions and his words, and the courage he has as a leader is something that I still am impacted by, as I study his life,' Freeman told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution while pointing out that King was also 39 when he was assassinated in 1968. 'The impact that man made is just humbling to even think about.'.
![[Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman arrives at the airport in Atlanta]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/20/15/94299949-14305109-image-a-27_1737385684931.jpg)
To be clear, Freeman isn't putting himself in the same breath as King: 'Anybody that talks about me on this day, on Dr. King's Day, let's point the attention at Dr. King, the person who really made change in our country.'. But while he doesn't see himself as a civil rights hero, it's easy envision Freeman as something of a trail blazer at a storied program like Notre Dame.
![[Fans hailed Freeman, while also slamming ESPN for the 'race-baiting' question to the coach]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/20/14/93957121-14305109-Fans_hailed_Freeman_while_also_slamming_ESPN_for_the_race_baitin-a-11_1737385187810.jpg)
Born to a black father and Korean mother in Ohio, Freeman is among the scant few minority coaches in Division I football. In fact, just 14 percent of D1 head coaches identified as African American in 2023, per NCAA records. Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman is set to become the first African-American head coach to lead his team into a national championship game at the highest level of college football.
![[One former Tennessee Volunteers defensive back insists Freeman's presence is significant]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/20/15/94299373-14305109-One_former_Tennessee_Volunteers_defensive_back_insists_Freeman_s-a-13_1737385250825.jpg)
