re: Before there was No. 52 Michael Sam, there was No. 52 Jackie Walker

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Herzbrun coached both Walker brothers at Fulton High School before he was hired at Tennessee. He had been close to the family for a decade, but recalls that as he and Battle were driving across town to the east-side YWCA to attend a party celebrating Jackie’s being drafted into the NFL, they were worrying about what they were going to encounter.

Battle told Herzbrun he wasn’t going to stay if Jackie showed up in a dress. Herzbrun offered to go in first and look around. The head coach waited in the car while Herzbrun looked for Jackie. When he spotted an attractive woman who looked a lot like Jackie, he tapped her on the shoulder and asked, “Who the hell are you?”

“She said ‘I’m Jackie’s sister.’ It was pretty embarrassing.”

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