In Alexandria, Virginia, in 1971, African-American football coach Herman Boone is hired to guide an integrated but racially polarized high school football team. Boone faces a cool reception from the team's players as well as an awkward relationship with assistant coach Bill Yoast, a local white coach who was bypassed for the job. As the two men learn to overcome their ignorance and bigotry, they work together to transform a group of angry unfocused players into a dynamic winning team of responsible young men. Based on a true story.