For Morgan State wrestling coach, legacy of winning Olympic gold ‘goes far and wide’
When Morgan State University wrestling head coach Kenny Monday was just a 10-year-old boy watching the 1972 Olympics from his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he decided he would become the world’s best wrestler and win his own gold medal. Sixteen years later, he would make history at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, as the first Black wrestler to do just that.
“I think we [Team USA] had maybe three gold medalists that year [1972], Dan Gable, Wayne Wells and Ben Peterson. … I kind of dialed in and watched those guys,” Monday said. “Man, that was the first time that I realized that the Olympic gold was the pinnacle of the sport of wrestling because there’s no professional league. So once I realized that [I thought], ‘Man, that’s what I want to be.’”
Monday was introduced to wrestling at age 6 by his two older brothers. His early involvement in an after-school YMCA wrestling program blossomed into a career that would include two Olympic appearances, gold and silver medals, and a chance to lead the first Division I wrestling program at a historically Black college or university and give back to the next generation of Black wrestlers.
National Wrestling Hall of Famer Charles “Charlie” Shivers was the sports director at the Y in Monday’s neighborhood and led the wrestling program the Monday brothers participated in. As the smallest member of the team, Monday initially struggled but learned foundational wrestling techniques with Shivers’ help.
“I was the smallest and youngest kid when I started wrestling on the team, so I couldn’t beat anyone on the team. I was getting whooped every day. But it was really a great beginning because my coach is like, ‘Man, just don’t quit. Just keep coming back. Don’t quit.’ … And I got better as I went,” Monday said.
He eventually advanced out of the YMCA and moved on to different wrestling programs. He went undefeated in high school with a record of 140-0-1 and attracted interest from many major colleges. However, as a Tulsa native, his decision came down to the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University, and he chose State.
Monday posted a record of 121-12-2 at Oklahoma State and won the NCAA title in 1984. After graduating, he competed in the 1984 Olympic trials, hoping to secure the singular spot for his weight class, but came in fifth place.
“1985, ’86, ’87 were building years. Those were the years that I really, really honed my craft and really got to the level to where I felt like I could compete,” Monday said.
After Monday made the 1988 Olympic team for the Seoul Games, three-time world champion Leroy Kemp, a Black wrestler who was set to compete in the 1980 Moscow Olympics before the U.S. boycott, served as a mentor and friend.
“I was poised to be the first Black Olympic champion in 1980,” Kemp said. “Then when that didn’t happen in ’84, the only other person that I wanted to have the distinction and honor was Kenny Monday. … It was like he was me. I got to live vicariously through him.”
Leroy Kemp
A missed opportunity for Kemp transformed into a chance to train Monday on his path to make history. Their bond grew as they connected over common opponents, their love for wrestling and a shared desire to represent other Black wrestlers on the sport’s biggest stage.
“Being Black in America, you’re always a minority in every sense of the word,” Kemp said. “Like, every room you’re in there’s nobody that hardly looks like you in the room, and wrestling isolates that even more. … Kenny and I both knew that.”
Monday faced Adlan Varaev of the Soviet Union in his final match at the 1988 Olympics. Varaev had won three of their four previous matches.
“You could tell before the match he [Monday] was ready, you know, just his body language. He was bouncing around [saying things like] ‘Gonna smash you.’ … That confidence was infectious,” Kemp said.
Monday’s win in Seoul etched his name in history, giving him a platform he still uses to expand the sport.
“It’s such a great feeling to win and be representing the United States and be the Olympic champion. … That history of being the first Black Olympic champion, it really goes far and wide,” Monday said.
This season is special for Monday, now in his third year at Morgan State, because he gets to work alongside his son, Kennedy Monday, who serves as an assistant coach with the wrestling program.
“I finally got on staff, and now everything’s coming into place. It’s only our third year as a program, so just building it from nothing is what is really special to me,” Kennedy Monday said.
Kennedy wrestled at the University of North Carolina, and his younger brother, Quincy, wrestled at Princeton University, each earning their own accolades. Now, Kennedy is helping their father extend his legacy.
“My dad was the first Black American to be an Olympic champion [in wrestling]. Now, fast forward to 2025, and he has a whole team of Black wrestlers. So, yeah, it’s something that people dream about, so now we’re just trying to build that dream,” he said.