Why was coach Fred Lane honored recently in ceremony?
FRANKLIN, Tenn. – A man who broke racial barriers in Williamson County three decades ago was honored. Fred Lane touched the lives of middle school students in Franklin on and off the field. Coach Lane has taught and coached at Franklin’s Freedom Middle School for 32 years. On Thursday people came out to say thank you to the legend. Lane came to the field for the Freedom versus Grassland Middle School game, not to coach, but to be honored. “You can’t count the number of lives that, that man has touched in this community,” said former student Reggie Mason. Health issues sidelined the coach last year. He’s retired, and everyone wanted to remember the man who literally built the field they play on. “We built it by hand – came and put the bleachers in,” said Lane. Three of Coach Lane’s students came back to wish him well because he meant so much to them. “In a lot of our lives he was a father figure. You know, he served that role in a lot of our lives, in my life for sure,” said Mason. Each
