NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — College athletes across the country added their voices to those calling for an end to racial injustice on Friday with football players and…
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — College athletes across the country added their voices to those calling for an end to racial injustice on Friday with football players and others marching on campus or stepping away from practices to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. In Oklahoma, the Sooners football team walked in rows of three to the Unity Garden, where they held a 57-second moment of silence in honor of the 57-year anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Assistant coach Dennis Simmons led a prayer before the team returned to its facilities. “The problems out there are real,” said Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley, who led the march and spoke at the event. “As we talk, as we discuss, we can’t come up with a better solution than unity. I just don’t know how you have unity and not include yourself and every part of your program in that. So it’s a way for us to show that.” Duke athletes gathered on campus Thursday with hundreds of Blue Devils staff, students and coaches in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. “All the social unrest and the difficulties that we face day-to-day living this day and time — you’re working with young people, and you want them to feel hope for the future and excited,” Duke football coach David Cutcliffe said.
