ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit was overcome with emotion while discussing the issues of racial injustice that the Black community faces in the United States.
“If you’re a white player in these locker rooms, it’s incumbent on you to really help with the change. I think Trevor Lawrence has been involved. I think it’s one thing to have rallies. It’s one thing to skip practices…to make a statement. My question is, what’s next? What will lead to change? I was talking to David Shaw, the head coach of Stanford, he shared a quote to me and it reminded me… from Benjamin Franklin. ‘Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as to those who are.’
“The black community is hurting. How do you listen to these stories and not feel pain and not want to help? Wearing a hoodie and putting your hands (on a steering wheel) at 10-2. Oh god, I better look out because I’m wearing Nike gear. What are we talking about? You can’t relate to that if you’re white but you can listen. You can try to help because this is not OK. It’s just not. We gotta do better, man. We gotta lock arm-and-arm and be together. In a football locker room, that’s gone. We gotta do better,” Herbstreit said.
In recent weeks, college football teams throughout the country have engaged in displays against racial injustice and police brutality following the police shooting of Jacob Blake and killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
Some of the college football players involved in leading those efforts spoke with ESPN’s Maria Taylor in a pre-taped roundtable discussion.
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