Young people have historically been at the forefront of American change, protest, and progress. So it is no surprise that college athletes have also decided to strike out and use their platforms to talk about Jacob Blake and issues of racial injustice.
Blake, a 29-year-old Black man and father, was shot seven times Sunday by a white officer in Kenosha, Wis.,. He remains in critical condition, and bound to his hospital bed.
To the Milwaukee Bucks decided not to take the word for yesterday’s playoff game, dominoes began to fall across the league and sports in general. The WNBA, what MLB and NFL teams, and, finally, the NHL have decided to skip their games and exercises
Today, football teams at Boston College, the University of South Florida, Appalachian State, and the University of Kentucky choose not to take the field.
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“I think as a coach you’re always proud to be able to fix things for your players,” USF head coach Jeff Scott said in an emotional press conference. “This is one of those situations you can’t fix.”
This afternoon, Kentucky players and staff posed for a photo alongside the images of Nate Northington, Wilbur Hackett, Greg Page, and Houston Hogg, the four college athletes who integrated SEC football. The photo was accompanied by a statement from the team.
Even though the players were the ones who decided to skip the practice, head coaches at USF and BC talked to the media the most. But this afternoon, two British footballers, Luke Fortner and Josh Paschal, shared their thoughts with local reporters via zoom.
“We are more than athletes,” sei Paschal, a defensive end. “We can have opinions that may not be the same as [fans. But] I want them to see us as human beings. This is a human rights issue, not a political issue. We must all be united in this struggle. ”
“This is not a problem for just our Black players,” said Fortner, a white offensive lineman. “We as a team have decided that we will use this platform for positive change.”
Both athletes know that their platform is through college football. And they know that the light will probably fade when they graduate. But, for now – even if it’s just one day – these college athletes choose to focus on issues that occur outside the rules.
‘People just see us as entertainment,’ Paschal told the Zoom Room, ‘that just makes no sense to me because I bleed the same blood that Luke bleeds. We may look different, but we are both intelligent young men and student-athletes. ”
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