Staying Connected: Social Change

As we consider the role that athletic administrators and coaches play in the lives of young people, it’s critical that we do our own inside work and find our voice.

Sports have always been a metaphor for social change, and have served to elevate the inherent value and worth of every human being. Now more than ever, it’s critical that we as leaders use our voices to help move America forward into a world that is fair, just, and equitable. This month, Joe hosted two Zooms with athletic administrators, coaches, and social change leaders about this time of unrest, understanding our racial narratives, and how to prepare and personalize a message to share with student-athletes.  

You can watch the first video below:

Special thanks to our friends Coach Napoleon Sykes, Coach Byron Beaman, A CALL TO MEN’s Ted Bunch, and Bucky McGill of the Syracuse 8 for sharing their insights and experiences. We are grateful for their leadership. 

As you think about what the next days, weeks and months look like and how you’ll begin meaningful conversations with your student-athletes, consider the following tips shared by the group:

• Ask student-athletes for their ideas and experiences.
• Welcome dialogue.
• Listen.
• Create the space and time to have meaningful conversation.
• Be willing to be vulnerable.
• Allow them to speak their truth.

We are grateful for this transformational community. Thank you.