How Millwood's Darwin Franklin can impact Oklahoma high school football in new OFBCA role

TULSA — Darwin Franklin wanted to study math.

It was his favorite subject, but as a kid, Franklin wasn’t sure of his place in his dream career field because he had never heard of any Black mathematicians.

Then he found inspiration in the story of Benjamin Banneker, the Black American innovator famous for designing a clock and calculating weather predictions in the 1700s.

A math teacher at Millwood High School in Oklahoma City, Franklin understands the power of instilling confidence in minority groups through representation. As Millwood’s football coach, he carries this approach to sports, too.

It’s a major reason Franklin is passionate about his new leadership role on the Oklahoma Football Coaches Association’s executive board.

“When you look at it from the outside,” Franklin said, “you feel like, ‘Well, how do I have a voice in this system? Where do I go to? Who do I talk to, because there’s nobody that looks like me?’

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Sometimes, you got to see somebody that looks like you to say, ‘Hey, this is something I can achieve.’”

Minority coaches – like Black mathematicians – are here. But it’s up to influential organizations to amplify their voices.

This is where Franklin steps in as the OFBCA’s inaugural Minority Chair, a position the association’s members approved in January. After receiving several applications, the executive board selected Franklin, 45, who debuted in this role last week at the Oklahoma Coaches Association summer clinic in Tulsa.

He and the board are continually working to outline the Minority Chair’s specific responsibilities, and this involves exchanging ideas with Minority Chairs from other states.

“Our mission statement for the OFBCA is to advance the game of football in Oklahoma,” said executive director Justin Jones, Norman North’s coach. “We want the game to be great. When you look at many of the football players that we coach, we have a diverse set of players that we coach.

“But sometimes, when you look at positions of leadership, when you look at coaching staffs, they’re not always representative of the kids that we coach.”

This issue permeates every rank of football. As of March 2023, the NFL had only six minority head coaches, according to the Associated Press. In 2022, The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport reported 82.3% of Division I athletic directors were white with higher percentages in D-II and D-III, and the vast majority were men.

In his first meeting as an executive board member, Franklin candidly told the group he was nervous. He’s not only serving in a new position on a board that has been predominantly white for years, but also laying the foundation for future Minority Chairs. How would people respond?

His fellow board members made this clear: Franklin’s perspective isn’t only appreciated.

It’s necessary.

Past president Kyle White said the organization was brainstorming the Minority Chair idea last summer, and when several coaches from minority groups made a similar suggestion, the board knew it had to happen.

“We needed to add that view, that set of experiences, and we needed to grow,” said White, Edmond Santa Fe’s football coach.

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After Franklin learned about the Minority Chair at the winter clinic, he received encouragement from White and others within the board to apply. Because the first chair is setting a precedent, Jones said the selection process was meticulous, and every factor led to Franklin.

Although Franklin is a devoted advocate for fellow Black coaches, he said he wants to avoid the false perception that “minority” means “only Black.”

Anyone who has faced exclusion or marginalization – any group that does not fall into the majority in his career field – is a minority.

He named several examples: women, lesbian and gay coaches, Native American coaches and Hispanic coaches. Being an ally to all of these varied populations takes empathy, and Franklin credited his fellow board members for acknowledging the need to listen and grow.

“There’s no cookie-cutter feelings for everybody,” Franklin said. “... It takes a lot to sit and say, ‘I don’t know, but I want somebody to tell me because I don’t know.’”

Diversifying leadership is a key step toward change, but representation doesn’t automatically mean inclusion. That’s why as Minority Chair, Franklin is raising awareness of situations that can, intentionally or unintentionally, create discomfort for minority groups.

He described some common scenarios he has encountered as a coach, athlete and son of a Black coach.

Calling out, “Let’s go, boys,” to a group that includes Black football players, even if meant harmlessly, can create hurt because of the term’s historically racist use. In the media, Franklin pointed out, predominantly white teams are often praised as “well-coached” while predominantly Black teams are characterized as “great athletes,” dismissing the coaches’ hours of detailed preparation. This bias can seep into officiating, too, leading to unfair calls.

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With Franklin’s voice on the board, the OFBCA can understand how to break these stereotypes. And it doesn’t stop with him. As Minority Chair, Franklin aims to recruit more coaches into the OFBCA, where they can speak up and engage in conversations about improving the game for everyone.

“This is serious,” Franklin said. “In order for it to get better, it’s got to get real, and it has to be uncomfortable. You can’t say you want change but you want it to always be nice and pretty. No, change is hard.

“So I appreciate that, to say we want to hear the truth – what is it really like?”

Franklin’s term as Minority Chair will last for two years, and then someone else will follow. Jones also mentioned the long-term goal of diversifying the board, striving for all positions to fully reflect the demographics of Oklahoma’s high school football scene.

With the board recognizing its first “35 under 35” class this year, the OFBCA is already identifying a new generation of leaders. That group includes two Millwood assistant coaches who have learned from Franklin: Nick Henderson and Greg McCalister.

Franklin said it can sometimes be “intimidating” and “humbling” to be a role model to young coaches – he still considers himself a kid, he laughed. But Franklin takes mentorship seriously, making sure these emerging leaders understand the responsibility that comes with recognition.

Change takes time, so his role as Minority Chair isn’t a sudden solution to issues of representation in football leadership.

It is a meaningful and hopeful beginning.

Durant coach Todd Vargas, who wrapped up his term as OFBCA president at the summer clinic, said his eyes have opened because of conversations with Franklin.

“I’m excited because I think he’s already made an impact,” Vargas said. “I can’t imagine in the next few years what the impact’s going to be, not just upon us personally, but on the whole state of Oklahoma. I think it’s going to be of great magnitude.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma HS football: Millwood coach Darwin Franklin is OFBCA Minority Chair