ESPN examines impact of Gaines-Mullins bond (2024)

ESPN examines impact of Gaines-Mullins bond (1)

A collision between Brad Gaines and Chucky Mullins 25 years ago left the vertebrae in Mullins' neck shattered, but it created a bond between the two football players of different races that lent hope for racial harmony.

Mullins, a black player from Ole Miss, was injured while tackling Gaines, a white player from Vanderbilt, and left paralyzed from the neck down. He died two years later.

But the story lived on and could have an impact on a nation still grappling with racial issues today when it is retold in an ESPN Storied documentary, "It's Time; The Brad Gaines and Chucky Mullins Story," which will air at 7 p.m. Thursday on the SEC Network.

"It's such a powerful story, and especially with what's going on in Ferguson (Mo.), you have to hope that it can have a positive impact," Gaines said. "It is just so ironic that it is coming out right now when all of this is going on. Maybe that's how the Lord works."

A premiere of the 90-minute show is scheduled for Tuesday on the Vanderbilt campus.

Ole Miss will visit Vanderbilt on Saturday in a game that will be played at LP Field.

Gaines and Mullins became the closest of friends in the months after the hit.

Gaines, who hails from an athletically gifted family, always has been extremely close to his three brothers — Greg, Chris and Jeff. But the relationship that grew between him and Mullins in the months after the hit was nearly as strong.

Former Tennessean sports writer Larry Woody wrote "A Dixie Farewell," a book about Gaines and Mullins, five years after the hit and stressed the racial barriers that were broken down because of the story.

In his review of the book, Sports Illustrated senior writer William F. Reed wrote, "You don't have to be a football fan to appreciate this touching story about how times and values have changed in the Old South."

The frustrating part of all of this, however, is that racial unrest still exists a quarter of a century after Gaines and Mullins' story unfolded.

"You would have thought we would be further along than where we are today, but what's going on (in Ferguson) shows that we're not; we still have a long way to go," Gaines said. "I'm convinced we're never going to eliminate racism; that's just a fact. We're fooling ourselves if we think we can. But we can come a lot further than where we are."

Tuesday's premiere at Vanderbilt, set for 7 p.m. at the Sarratt Center, will be the first time Gaines sees it.

"They offered to let me see it, but I told them I didn't want to," Gaines said. "I just want to watch it with everyone else. All of those ESPN documentaries are really well done, so I didn't see any need to preview it or critique it or whatever. The people who did this spent a full year with me; they went really in depth, and I trust that they did a good job."

A limited number of free tickets are available to the general public at the Sarratt box office.

ESPN examines impact of Gaines-Mullins bond (2)

Former sportswriters land movie roles

The Tennessean reported earlier this month that Judge Reinhold would play Don Meyer in the movie about the Lipscomb basketball coach's life, "My Many Sons"; Tatum O'Neal would play Don's wife, Carmen; and Casey Bond, who is producing the film, had cast himself as their son Jerry.

What wasn't known until this week, when filming began in town, was who would play Chuck Ross, who was among Nashville's most devoted and best-known sports fans before his death last year.

It turns out that Lipscomb media relations director Mark McGee will play Ross. McGee spent many years as a Nashville Banner sports writer and got to know Ross well.

Also, former Tennessean sports writer Tom Wood has landed a part in the movie.

Ex-Peay star hired at New Mexico State

Former McGavock and Austin Peay football star Walt Wells has joined the staff at New Mexico State under coach Doug Martin, who is from Oak Ridge.

Wells was hired to coach the offensive line. He replaces Chris Symington, former offensive line coach at Vanderbilt (1990-94), Western Kentucky (1996-99) and Tennessee State (2000-03), who resigned after receiving two criminal citations for huffing compressed air, according to the Las Cruces Sun-News.

MTSU athletics loses Midstate mainstay

Middle Tennessee State assistant director of athletic communications Russell Luna, who worked primarily with the women's basketball team, has landed a new job at West Virginia.

He will be associate director of athletic communications at West Virginia, working primarily with women's basketball.

Luna, a native of Fayetteville, was a mainstay in the Midstate, having also worked in the athletics department at TSU and serving as an intern with the Titans.

Magazine recognizes Franklin race

The Franklin Classic 5K, which will be run Monday, made Runner's World magazine's list of "18 5Ks to Fill Your Calendar."

The magazine noted the run's "Southern charm" and described it as a course that "winds through scenic countryside and past old Southern mansions."