Could the home of Florida State football undergo a name change? If one former Seminole has his way, it will.
Doak Campbell Stadium was opened in 1950 and named in honor of Doak S. Campbell, the university’s president at the time. Campbell helped guide the university’s transition from the Florida College for Women to FSU in 1947. However, Campbell was also a pro-segregationist, going so far as to forbid the student newspaper from reporting on racial segregation.
Which brings us to Kendrick Scott, who played linebacker for Florida State football from 1991-94. In a petition posted to change.org, Scott is calling for Campbell’s name to be removed from the stadium. At the moment, the stadium is officially called Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium. Scott’s petition calls for the stadium to be renamed Charlie Ward Field at Bobby Bowden Stadium. Ward, of course, played quarterback at FSU and, in 1993, became the first Florida State football player to win the Heisman Trophy.
Below is the content of Scott’s petition:The stadium at FSU was named after Doak Campbell a former FSU President. While the tradition has been preserved, in reflection his non-inclusive views of blacks as a segregationist is divisive, therefore his name should be removed from a stadium that has been home to many Black football players helping to build the school and the tradition to what it has become today: a national treasure.
Therefore, this petition seeks to change the name of the stadium to the Bobby Bowden Stadium and change Bobby Bowden field to Charlie Ward field. Charlie Ward was recently polled at the greatest Seminole of all time and rightfully so. He broke a modern-day color barrier by being the first Black football player to win a Heisman Trophy at a Florida School. He remains the most decorated college football player in history.As of yet, neither the university nor the Florida State football program has commented on the petition.