Current:Home > MyCarl Weathers was more than 'Rocky.' He was an NFL player − and a science fiction star.-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Carl Weathers was more than 'Rocky.' He was an NFL player − and a science fiction star.
View Date:2024-12-23 16:54:15
In February for Black History Month, USA TODAY Sports is publishing the series "29 Black Stories in 29 Days." We examine the issues, challenges and opportunities Black athletes and sports officials continue to face after the nation’s reckoning on race following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. This is the fourth installment of the series.
In the 1970s, years before Carl Weathers' Apollo Creed character would lose to Rocky Balboa, he was a member of the Oakland Raiders. Not in a movie. In real life.
Weathers played defensive end at San Diego State and went undrafted by the NFL but was signed as a free agent by the Raiders. He played in seven games in the 1970 season and as Weathers recounted to Sports Illustrated, one day he was called into the office of legendary coach John Madden, and told to bring his playbook.
"I don’t know what he meant by it, but I know how I took it," Weathers explained. "He said to me, 'You’re just too sensitive.' What the (expletive) do you mean I’m too sensitive? Not that it’s not true."
Weathers would go on to play in the Canadian Football League for the BC Lions but that comment from Madden would impact Weathers in a huge way.
"I couldn’t let it go, man," he said. "It kind of put a chip on my shoulder on one hand and it was like a wound on the other because as a football player, certainly, as a professional football player, the last thing you want to hear is that you’re too sensitive. On the other hand, without that sensitivity, how could I be an actor? How could I be an actor of any worth, really?
"That’s what we trade on. We trade on performances that delve into the humanity of us all. So on one hand, it felt like an indictment, like I committed a crime. And on the other hand, I guess it reminded me of something that was actually necessary in me to succeed and what I envisioned doing with my life as a performer, as an artist. So, God bless John Madden for seeing something in me and naming it what it actually is: a certain amount of sensitivity."
Weathers died in his sleep last week at age 76. His role in the "Rocky" movies is well chronicled, and his football life, while not as well known, was also impressive. But there's something else Weathers did that was just as important.
The movie "Predator" would make the top 20 or even top ten list of many science fiction fans. This is particularly true if you were a Black, hardcore sci-fi nerd like me, in my early 20s, watching the movie in all of its campy glory.
Even in 1987, when the movie debuted, there were few Black film stars in science fiction and Weathers' character, Dillon, was an equal to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch. The infamous handshake between the two characters has since become a goofy meme but at the time it was a symbol of their equality.
He'd go on to a role in the "Star Wars" spinoff "The Mandalorian" where he played the leader of a sort of bounty hunter union. He was really good in the series but it was his "Predator" role that put Weathers into science fiction high orbit. That's how good the movie was. That's how good Weathers was.
veryGood! (1897)
Related
- 2 dead in explosion at Kentucky factory that also damaged surrounding neighborhood
- McDonald's buying back its franchises in Israel as boycott hurt sales
- How Whitty Books takes an unconventional approach to bookselling in Tulsa, Oklahoma
- WrestleMania 40 winners, highlights from night one: The Rock returns and much more
- Powell says Fed will likely cut rates cautiously given persistent inflation pressures
- 50 love quotes to express how you feel: 'Where there is love there is life'
- Horoscopes Today, April 5, 2024
- South Carolina could finish season undefeated. What other teams have pulled off the feat?
- Gossip Girl Actress Chanel Banks Reported Missing After Vanishing in California
- Is Nicole Richie Ready for Baby No. 3 With Joel Madden? She Says...
Ranking
- Biden EPA to charge first-ever ‘methane fee’ for drilling waste by oil and gas companies
- McDonald's buying back its franchises in Israel as boycott hurt sales
- Alabama's roster of unlikely heroes got it to Final Four and could be key against Connecticut
- Cute & Portable Humidifiers for Keeping You Dewy & Moisturized When You Travel
- One person is dead after a shooting at Tuskegee University
- SWAT team responding to Arkansas shopping mall, police ask public to avoid the area
- GalaxyCoin: Practical advice for buying Bitcoin with a credit card
- When will Fed cut rates? As US economy flexes its muscles, maybe later or not at all
Recommendation
-
Golden Bachelorette: Joan Vassos Gets Engaged During Season Finale
-
Zach Edey powers Purdue past North Carolina State in Final Four as Boilermakers reach title game
-
Numerology 101: Everything You Need to Know About Your Life Path Number
-
USWNT advances to SheBelieves Cup final after beating Japan in Columbus
-
The charming Russian scene-stealers of 'Anora' are also real-life best friends
-
'A blessing no one was hurt': Collapsed tree nearly splits school bus in half in Mississippi
-
ALAIcoin: Bitcoin Prices Will “Fly to the Moon” Once the Fed Pauses Tightening Policies - Galaxy Digital CEO Says
-
Jelly Roll's Private Plane Makes an Emergency Landing