KNOXVILLE (WATE) - Country music superstar Kenny Chesney has produced a documentary on former Vols quarterback Condredge Holloway.
The "artful dodger" was the first African-American quarterback to start in the Southeastern Conference and led the Vols to three bowl game appearances from 1972–74.
Chesney and Holloway will premiere the film "The Color Orange: The Condredge Holloway Story" at a private event at the Tennessee Theatre.
The documentary will make its national premiere on ESPN at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 20. It's part of the network's "Year of the Quarterback" initiative.
"What I'm most excited about for people to see in this film, is about him personally, about his humanity, how humble he really is, and how he took adversity in his life and gutted through it with grace and style, how he channeled a lot of negative energy and made it positive," Chesney said.
Holloway shared his philosophy on being told by Alabama coach Bear Bryant that his school wasn't ready for a black quarterback.
"You had a choice," Holloway said. "When something comes up that was not the way you like it, you have a choice. You can avoid it or you can deal with it and try to fix it. I choose to deal with it and try to fix it because an opportunity that someone takes away from you, there is another alternative. It doesn't mean you have to stop or quit or say you aren't going to do this anymore. Just because someone says you couldn't play quarterback at their school, there are plenty of other schools."
Holloway, who was also the first black baseball player in UT history, went on to play 13 seasons in the Canadian Football League. He also returned to college after retiring from the field and earned his degree at UT.
He is currently UT's assistant athletic director for player relations.
