After winning the Orange Bowl on Thursday, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman swatted down a question from an ESPN reporter about how Freeman’s race factored into the achievement.
The Fighting Irish edged out Penn State in a 27-24 nail-biter of a victory. The team now advances to the College Football Playoff national championship game, which is scheduled for January 20.
“You are the first black head coach to go to a national championship game in college football,” ESPN reporter Molly McGrath said to Freeman following the win. “How much does this mean to you?”
“You know, I’ve said this before, I don’t ever want to take attention away from the team,” Freeman responded. “It is an honor, and I hope all coaches — minorities, black, Asian, white, it doesn’t matter — great people continue to get opportunities to lead young men like this.”
“This ain’t about me, this is about us,” the coach, who is half black and half Korean, added. “And we’re going to celebrate what we’ve done because it’s something special.”
ESPN reporter tries to play the race card with ND Head Coach Marcus Freeman – Freeman turns it down. pic.twitter.com/oHfxoxRb3F
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 10, 2025
Folks online were quick to react to Freeman’s response, and McGrath’s racial question.
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“Notre Dame just won its biggest game since 1988. How does ESPN react? By focusing on one half of Marcus Freeman’s race,” Clay Travis posted on X. “Freeman absolutely crushes his answer and says he hopes all coaches regardless of race get great opportunities like he did.”
Notre Dame just won its biggest game since 1988. How does @espn react? By focusing on one half of Marcus Freeman’s race. Freeman absolutely crushes his answer and says he hopes all coaches regardless of race get great opportunities like he did. pic.twitter.com/GL3DL6lzB6
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) January 10, 2025
NFL legend Brett Favre said McGrath’s question was “terrible,” but Freeman had a “great response.”
“Sports should bring people together not separate,” Favre added.
Terrible question but great response by Notre Dame head coach.
Sports should bring people together not separate. pic.twitter.com/odzoVsmK7w
— Brett Favre (@BrettFavre) January 10, 2025
Earlier in the month, Freeman was asked a similar racial question from the press. He responded by saying he was “grateful” to be one of two black coaches in the playoffs.
“It’s a reminder that you are a representation for many others — and many of our players that look the same way I do. Your color shouldn’t matter, and the evidence of your work should, but it takes everybody.”
This is extremely bad journalism by Ross, completely taking out of content of what Marcus Freeman actually said, where he did in fact acknowledge the significance:
Here was the actual quote: https://t.co/gMP4egPT9M pic.twitter.com/K8Nh6DWpm8
— Chancellor Johnson (@ChancellorTV) January 3, 2025
Freeman has also won over support for his decision to refocus the Notre Dame football program on God. A Christian his whole life, Freeman converted to Catholicism back in 2022 and he notably reinstated mandatory mass attendance for his players before games, a tradition that was dropped by the previous Fighting Irish coach.
“That’s important for me,” Freeman told the National Catholic Register in 2022 about the school’s Christian context. “I want our guys to wonder about what it means to embrace Jesus Christ.”
Marcus Freeman is a class act. A convert to Catholicism in 2022, he quickly reinstated the traditional ND practice of the team attending a pre-game Mass—something which had been abandoned by his predecessor. https://t.co/thTcDMoK7Z
— Father V (@father_rmv) January 10, 2025
