Rodrigo DeTriana Barnes (born February 10, 1950) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

and

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

Early years

Rodrigo Barnes was born in 1950 in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the ...

. His father was an

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

veteran and his parents divorced when he was young. Barnes attended Carver High School, which was an all-black high school at the time. He received 3A second-team All-State honors in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, in addition to participating in

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. He accepted a

football scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United Stat ...

from

, where at the time he was one of only four

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

players. He was named the starter at

middle linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

as a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

, but failed one course and had two D's, which forced the school to make him ineligible to play for 1970 season. At one point, he considered transferring to the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. As a junior, Barnes became the first

to be named to the All-SWC defensive team. In his senior year, he was limited with a knee injury and a bruised a kidney he suffered against

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

. While at Rice, Barnes was helped start the Black Student Union and was part of a movement to pressure the university to hire more

teachers and coaches. His protests were well-known on campus and garnered him a reputation for troublemaking. In 2011, he was inducted into the Rice Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

He was selected by the

in the seventh round (176th overall) of the 1973 NFL Draft, after he dropped because teams were cautious of his civil rights activism. His athletic ability and production propelled him to become the second

to make the team in franchise history (

Ralph Coleman Ralph O. Coleman (November 30, 1895Birthdate obtained from Social Security Death Index. – July 8, 1990 ) was a college baseball coach at Oregon State University for 35 years. Early life Coleman was born in Canby, Oregon in 1895 and graduated f ...

was the first). Barnes could play all three

positions, but he mainly competed for the

position against

Lee Roy Jordan Lee Roy Jordan (born April 27, 1941) is a former American football linebacker. After attending the University of Alabama, playing under head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, he played 14 years in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys from ...

and was a core

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

player. His best moments came in the 1973 preseason; against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

, he helped stop

Larry Csonka Larry Richard Csonka (; born December 25, 1946) is a former professional American football fullback who played for the Miami Dolphins for the majority of his career, along with the New York Giants for three years, and a short stint with the Mem ...

three times in a row, during a 2-yard goal-line stand and against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

, he had 11 tackles (3 for loss) and hit backup

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Dean Carlson to the sidelines under the bench, which the referees thought Carlson was out of the playing field and flagged Barnes with a 15-yard personal foul penalty. In March

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

, he was selected by the

Florida Blazers The Florida Blazers were an American football team who played in the World Football League in 1974. The team moved to San Antonio in 1975 and became the San Antonio Wings. History The Blazers began in 1974 when oceanographic engineer E. Joseph W ...

in the 13th round (145th overall) of the WFL Pro Draft. His relationship with the Cowboys also started to deteriorate, with his growing belief that racial reasons were the main cause of him remaining in a reserve role. In October, he left

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

in a disagreement over playing time and salary, while also informing the team that at the recommendation of his personal doctor he was going to have knee surgery for an injury suffered in the last game of 1973. He eventually was released on November 11.

New England Patriots (first stint)

On November 11,

, he was claimed off waivers by the

Charlotte Hornets (WFL)

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, Barnes played in 2 games for the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

of the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...

, until the league ceased operations at the mid-season point in

New England Patriots (second stint)

, he signed with the

and was waived after the season opener on September 24.

Miami Dolphins

On November 19,

, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

. On April 6,

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

, he was traded to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

in exchange for a twelfth round draft choice (#342-Darryl Brandford).

St. Louis Cardinals

The

released him on September 2,

Oakland Raiders

On November 15,

, the

signed him as a

because of injuries in the linebacking corps. He was a part of the

Super Bowl XI Super Bowl XI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Minnesota Vikings to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

winning team, playing mainly on

. Barnes retired in 1977, in part due to the numerous injuries he had sustained over his career.

Personal life

After his NFL retirement, Barnes went back to school to get a master's degree in education. He currently works as a high school assistant principal at the Garland Alternative Education Center in the Dallas area.

References

External links

Rice Hall of Fame bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Rodrigo 1950 births Living people Sportspeople from Waco, Texas Players of American football from Texas American football linebackers Rice Owls football players Dallas Cowboys players New England Patriots players Miami Dolphins players Oakland Raiders players Charlotte Hornets (WFL) players African-American players of American football