ELON, N.C. – On Tuesday, Sept. 12, ESPN's 30 for 30 "The Year of the Scab" documentary aired and featured former Elon football linebacker Tony Settles '87. Settles was a part of the Washington Redskins replacement team during the NFL's player strike during the 1987 season. Settles played in all three games as linebacker and helped earn the franchise three wins during the strike.
 
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An aspiring high school football player in Laurinburg, N.C., Settles did not know about Elon until an assistant football coach at Elon introduced him there one spring day. Settles remembers "I was impressed with Elon's academics, the whole [football] program." Shortly after, Settles was awarded a scholarship to play at Elon College. His first year there and subsequently thereafter, "it was all about taking in the college life…it was enlightening," says Settles.
 
Settles played for five years at Elon as an outside linebacker and majored in Business Administration with an emphasis in Computer Science. His favorite memory was starting his first game at Elon, and some of his most exciting times were playing then rival teams such as Carson Newman and Presbyterian.
 
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Later, in 1987 after Settles graduated from Elon College, many NFL players went on strike citing unrestricted free agency as the cause, which, at the time, was not allowed. Most notably, this effort was led by Gene Upshaw, head of the NFL Players Association. In September of that year, NFL owners and coaches were grabbing replacement players, later dubbed "scabs" to play in the absence of striking professionals. These replacement players crossed the often-times dangerous protest lines to live their dream of playing in the NFL. Though most dreams only lasted for three weeks.
 
Settles went to training camp for the Redskins. Though Settles was released on the final cut, he made an impression that would impact him later when Bobby Beathard, general manager of the Washington Redskins and parent of Elon football player Casey Beathard '90, called Settles to play as a replacement during the strike. Settles, a little nervous, took the opportunity and hopped on a plane and arrived that Monday morning to Washington, D.C.
 
"It was a familiar place, but I was seeing different guys," says Settles of his first day with the Redskins replacement team. Under Coach Joe Gibbs, the replacement team fought hard and had a unified front, leading them to three wins. Fans roared while the underdogs paved the way for the franchise to win the Super Bowl that season. After the three games with the replacement players, NFL pros returned back to their teams and gradually ended the strike. Most replacement Redskins were not offered permanent spots on the roster, but they have permanent memories of their time in the limelight, including Elon's own Tony Settles.
 
Watch the ESPN 30 for 30 Episode here.