Boston College and South Florida on Thursday became the first college football teams to cancel preseason practice to participate in the national discussion about social injustice.
Boston College coaches and players met and discussed recent events and how they can help unite communities and create positive change. South Florida, which also is awaiting the results of its latest COVID-19 testing, met briefly as a team Thursday morning.
Jacob Blake, a Black man, was shot seven times by police Sunday in Kenosha, Wisconsin, as he attempted to enter the driver’s side door of his vehicle. Video of the shooting was distributed on social media, sparking more protests and causing more athletes to speak out or take action.
“The events in Kenosha once again lay bare a tragic outcome resulting from police interaction with a person of color,” NCAA president Mark Emmert said in a statement Thursday. “It has also once again brought to the forefront the issues of race, social justice and social responsibility that we all need to commit to.
“Peaceful protest is a powerful tool to drive social change and we fully support student-athletes’ rights to be heard. Action also drives change and we urge all student-athletes to exercise their right and responsibility to vote this November 3 to build a better and more inclusive America.”
First-year Bulls coach Jeff Scott also met with a smaller group of player leaders.
“These are real-life situations that are going on,” Scott told reporters, becoming emotional. “As a coach, you always take pride in being able to fix things for your players, like a coach or a dad. You want to fix whatever the problem is.
“This is one of those situations where you can’t fix it for your players. So part of it is just for your guys to know that you love them, that you’re there to support them and that you stand with them.”