Why Let Your Athletes Protest?

Being a collegiate athlete at any level affords student athletes some privilege and notoriety. I wish more college coaches would encourage students to participate in campus protests to bring attention to community and national issues if students feel strongly about the issue. If your team culture is healthy, then it would be a natural progression in terms of what your teams do as a part of their culture. It puts critical thinking and informed presence up front.

If we're committed building teams and community, it makes sense to encourage the kind of leadership that student athletes can provide. For example, white cis men should be using their privilege to be out in between police and protestors shielding their classmates not antagonizing or baiting police. How does this help your program? Community engagement without the having to worry about your team's performance in sport. Conversely if you have white cis men acting out, throwing rocks or agitating the police it's usually someone other than a white guy getting dragged off in cuffs. The visibility for your program is a net positive and the optics that a cross section of the student body is engaged can possibly give cause to the administration to think twice about adverse actions against the student body. Especially those that represent the school in sport.

From the other side of this, the sell you can make to your director and supervisors is that support for the greater student body and not just your student athletes is paramount to the success of athletics as a whole. This is another chance to reconnect with the student body in an authentic way. You grow your following, you raise the profile of your teams, and you gain support within a larger community because you understand that this generation has not known education without violence. This group of college aged students learned Run, Hide, Fight as primary schoolers. If you've done the work to create a healthy team culture this can serve to strengthen bonds, and forge a toughness not often tested in sport. You're mentoring leaders and nurturing global citizens so why not give them the chance to recognize their privilege and stand with the oppressed. 

It should go without saying, but make sure that your student athletes educate themselves not on just the issues, but how to protect themselves and each other as well. From a former street medic, it's important to know how to stay safe physically and electronically. How to Protest Safely

Edited 4/29/2024: 1st Paragraph-- Students should have the choice to participate in campus protests if they feel that it aligns with their views. It should not be coaches imposing their opinions or views onto students and using them to protest in their place. Coaches should also participate if they are in alignment.