Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

Marcus Freeman Is Proud of Family's African American and Korean Roots

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Spencer Ostrow | Last updated Sep 13, 2025 5:15 PM ET

Marcus Freeman was named head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Dec. 3, 2021, following the departure of Brian Kelly to LSU. Notre Dame chose to promote from within, as Freeman had previously served as the defensive coordinator.

The 39-year-old has always embraced his mixed-race background but has had more opportunities to speak about it since becoming Notre Dame’s head coach. He's half African American and half Korean.

"My father's African American," Freeman said on "With Voices True." "He's from Columbus, Ohio, and was in the Air Force. And my mother is Korean. She's from South Korea, Daegu city in South Korea. And they met in the Air Force when my dad was in Korea, married and then came back to the United States. And I was born shortly thereafter."

Freeman wants his kids to embrace his family's diversity.

"And I want my kids to embrace, not only people for how they see them physically, but who they are on the inside," Freeman said. "And it's important for them to judge people off of their actions, judge people off of their personality and who they are instead of just how they look. And it starts with my kids."

Freeman thinks the best way for everyone of all races to come together is to "spend time with people. And that doesn't happen unless you're willing to swallow your own pride and say, OK, we can agree to disagree. You don't always have to win an opinion on a conversation, but it's got to be intentional. We have to make time to spend time together to have a real community and real relationships that help us form a true bond and blend amongst different ethnicities."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: