Former Gamecock Tim Frisby connects today’s activism to iconic, historic athletes
Tim Frisby was connecting the dots.
Earlier in the coronavirus pandemic, the sports world was captivated by “The Last Dance” documentary series focused on Michael Jordan. The shadow of how he carried himself was a model for many athletes, including the way he tried to step back from overt politics, notably in the Helms-Gantt election in 1990.
But before that, athletic activism was a tradition for some of sports’ biggest names.
“Really prior to him, other big athletes, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell and Jim Brown, Muhammad Ali, John Carlos and Tommie Smith, all these big-time athletes in the past did speak out on things like this,” Frisby said.
For weeks, Frisby, a former Gamecock football walk-on, has been using his platform on social media to speak up about the coronavirus pandemic, racism and injustice. He has been calling for a change of the name of South Carolina’s Strom Thurmond Wellness Center, and spoke to The State about an hour after a social media push spearheaded by former Gamecocks Marcus Lattimore and Alshon Jeffery started up.
“I’ve always been taught to speak up when you see either something wrong or some area that you can help in or educate in,” he said. “That’s just how I was raised.”
Frisby was with the Gamecocks when the wellness center was finished in 2003. He was a 39-year-old walk-on wide receiver, a veteran who spent 20 years in the Army and then went back to school. He was nicknamed “Pops” and gained a measure of recognition for his story before graduating and eventually working in state government (his current role involves legal outreach work for veterans).
He has tweeted often about Thurmond, the former South Carolina politician and outspoken segregationist. Thurmond both ran for president on a pro-segregation platform and conducted a long filibuster to try to hold up the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
Frisby said he has kept up with other athletes speaking up, noting someone such as Lattimore might have more to lose but chooses to speak up regardless.
When he was a player, Frisby spoke to his much younger teammates about history, including the Civil Rights era. The Confederate flag had been removed from the State House dome only a few years prior.
In some ways, he believes he’s helping keep people informed, especially as people become aware of issues at a intense pace.
“People are suddenly becoming aware of things they probably already should have been aware of and kind of put on the back shelf,” Frisby said. “Obviously, with things going on in the nation, a lot of people are becoming more aware of the situations (and) … what’s kind of causing a lot of angst for people is that a lot of the changes are coming immediately now. That’s kind of giving people pause, as to how fast things are changing I think is more alarming I would say to some.”
As South Carolina’s football team marched for social justice more than a week ago, current Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp said he hoped the world could emulate a locker room, a place with mutual respect and purpose, even if everyone didn’t always get along.
Frisby referenced an institution he spent two decades in, the military, as a model of sorts for a more unified world.
“The military is a family that functions with people from all types of backgrounds,” Frisby said. “Actually, is one of the the great experiments in diversity. If you look at it as far as you everybody is able to function and put aside their differences for in common purpose.”
This story was originally published June 18, 2020 at 6:15 PM.
