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North Carolina Central men’s basketball coach LeVelle Moton said Sunday he was concerned with coaches in the top college football and basketball conferences in the NCAA staying silent in the wake of George Floyd’s police-involved death and the ensuing protests.
Moton said in an appearance on ESPN Radio that coaches in Power 5 Conferences – the term used to describe the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC and Pac-12 – care about African Americans when they’re on their teams but tend to stay silent on social justice issues.
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“The reality is a lot of these coaches have been able to create generational wealth,” Moton said. “Their grandkids' kids are gonna be able to live a prosperous life because athletes who were the complexion of George Floyd were able to run a football, throw a football, shoot a basketball or whatever have you, so they have been able to benefit from athletes that look like George Floyd and many more. But whenever people [who are] the complexion of George Floyd are killed, assassinated, murdered in the street in broad daylight, they're silent.”
Moton revealed in the interview that he goes over with his players how to act should they get pulled over by a police officer. Moton said he was held at gunpoint in 2005 with former North Carolina Tar Heels star Raymond Felton in Raleigh.
“I have a problem with [their silence] because it seems as if black lives matter to them whenever they can benefit from it or whenever they're getting them first downs, catching an alley-oop or shooting a [3-pointer] or whatever,” he said on ESPN Radio. “When it's time for humanity to speak up on behalf of the student-athlete, it's silent. It's crickets. And my problem is if the murdering of black Americans is too risky of an issue for you to stand up as a leader, then who are they really playing for?”
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Several white coaches in the aforementioned conferences spoke out on the issue.
Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari tweeted Friday: “Like many of you, I’ve been watching what’s been going on the last couple of days and have had some time to think about it and pray about it. All I can tell you is I’m sick.”
North Carolina men’s basketball coach Roy Williams released a statement through the school, saying: “The people of Minneapolis and others around the country who are peacefully protesting injustice have my complete support. What happened to George Floyd has happened elsewhere is a tragedy and is something that we can no longer tolerate as a country. I feel for the families that have lost their loved ones. It is unacceptable what is happening to our own citizens and needs to change immediately, but we have to come together, deal with the problems, and heal as one people.”
Alabama football coach Nick Saban released a statement as well.
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“We’re at an important moment for our country, and now is the time for us to choose kindness, tolerance, understanding, empathy, and most importantly ... it’s time to love each other. Every life is precious, and we much understand we have so many more things that unite us than divide us,” Saban’s statement read.
“I’ve always been inspired and encouraged by examples set by those who came before us like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and so many others who devoted their lives to finding peaceful ways to rid our society of social inequalities. As Dr. King said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied to a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.’ We are all part of this and we must bash these types of injustices in not just our country, but our world. The ultimate future of our nation is in our hands, and like the teams I’ve been privileged to coach, we must depend and respect each other no matter our differences. We must come together as a society and treat one another with respect and dignity.”
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