BIO
Jon Frankel began his career as a radio producer for Bob Costas. He then moved in front of the camera as a local sportscaster. His on-air career led to ten years as a general assignment correspondent for NBC, ABC, and CBS news. Today, he is a correspondent for HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel and CNBC’s On The Money.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
In 2003, I read a column by Harvey Araton in The New York Times about a football team called the Harlem Hellfighters. They were new to the high school football scene in New York City.

Two years later, I ran into a gentleman with a gym bag that said Harlem Hellfighters. The man was Coach Duke Fergerson. I told him I was interested in coming out to practice and perhaps following the team for a season in Harlem. I didn’t have a hard time identifying the really talented players.  But it was a challenge discovering why some of these young men were playing football, and what they wanted out of the game.