With all the discussion about the USM's idiocy in regards to Angel, I read elsewhere an unhappy tale about some ugly responses of a few of this year's Wildcat fans to a Puerto Rican Wildcat who brought the PR flag to a game. Shows we all have a lot to learn. It got me to wondering, though how K-State has responded to racial challenges over the years. A Wikipedia entry says some nice things: Racial integration at Kansas State Kansas State historically has been welcoming to all races. As far back as the 1940s and 1950s (a time regarded by many for its lack of civil rights in the United States), the leadership of K-State athletics took a strong stance in support of racial integration. [edit] Football In 1949, African American Harold Robinson played football for Kansas State with an athletic scholarship. In doing so, Robinson broke the decades-long "color barrier" in Big Seven Conference athletics. Harold Robinson later received a letter of congratulations from Jackie Robinson, who had integrated major league baseball in 1947 while playing with the Brooklyn Dodgers.[12] [edit] Baseball In the spring of 1951, the conference color barrier in baseball was broken by Kansas State's Earl Woods (the father of golf great Tiger Woods). An indicator of the controversial nature of this position is reflected in an article published in The Tulsa World about an incident that occurred in the early 1950s during a baseball game:[13] " Former teammate Larry Hartshorn recalled an instance when the Wildcats were scheduled to play a spring game against a team from Mississippi. During warm-ups, the Mississippi coach took notice of Earl, and according to Hartshorn, the coach said his team would play the game only if the black player stayed on the bus. Instead, K-State coach Ray Wauthier put everybody on the bus. "We just left," Hartshorn said. " [edit] Men's Basketball Finally, in the winter of 1951–1952, Kansas State's Gene Wilson broke the conference color barrier in basketball, along with LaVannes Squires at the University of Kansas.[14]