Former NFL star Rod Woodson says the Ku Klux Klan tried to set fire to his family’s home when he was a child.
Woodson, whose father was Black and mother was White, recalled being 11 when he woke in the middle of the night and saw flames outside his bedroom window. He described the experience during an appearance on “The Craig Carton Show.”
He ran to alert his father, and the family escaped before firefighters investigated the blaze. About a week later, Woodson said, they received a letter threatening another attack unless they left the area because of their mixed-race family.
Woodson, now 61, grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He said the attackers had poured gasoline around the house, but dogs began barking and apparently drove them away. By the time they returned, some of the gasoline had dried, which Woodson believes kept the fire from spreading right away.
“We were very blessed,” he said. His family stayed in the house through much of his childhood, moving farther away when he reached high school.
Woodson also said the Black Panthers gave his family a hard time because they were mixed race, and that they received calls and letters. His father urged him not to feel pressured to choose one side of his identity.
“I am who I am,” Woodson said, reflecting on the questions about his race that he still gets.
Woodson played 18 seasons in the NFL, including 10 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, four with the Baltimore Ravens, two with the Oakland Raiders and one each with the San Francisco 49ers and Raiders’ predecessor teams as listed in his career record.
Across 238 games, he recorded 1,158 tackles, 13.5 sacks and 71 interceptions. He returned 12 interceptions for touchdowns, an NFL record, and won a Super Bowl with Baltimore after the 2000 season.
