Satisfied with Nothin' by Ernest Hill

Jamie Ray Griffin is among the first students to integrate his local high school in 1970s rural Louisiana15 years after court-imposed desegregation. Despite harassment, Jamie internalizes his anger much better than does his best friend, Booger, whose volatile temper leads to a riot on the first day of school. Jamie's athletic abilities earn him a starring role on the football team and the apparent respect of local residents. Yet when his cousin is caught dating a white girl, Jamie witnesses a brutal assault and lynching, which he vows never to forget.

In pursuit of a pro football career, he attends a local black university; while struggling to balance academics and increasing athletic demands, he falls in love with Stacy Lefere, an accomplished, upper-class black woman. His exploitive coaches drive others to quit, but Jamie, intent on a pro career, plays hard while his grades slide. When a crippling injury ends his chances to remain in college, Jamie is overlooked in the NFL draft and fails in a subsequent tryout as a free agent when his knee again collapses. Unable to accept Stacy's love, and with academic failureabetted by counselors who urge him to take "bowling" and "sports injuries"a near certainty, he returns to a low-paying job at home