Lwal Uguak, Jay Rose and UConn football teammates have a voice, and are using it to call for social change (Dom Amore)

[huskymedic]

If you can't behave and stay on topic... take a pass on commenting



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>>“As everything was going on, we had team meetings,” Uguak says, “and we were talking about some ways we can, as a team, talk about how much we care and how we’re going to do things in the future to help us bring more attention to situations like this, the Black Lives Matter movement. It was just time. We couldn’t just sit still and let everything play out without having a part in making a change.”...

...So when football does return, old assumptions will be challenged, trust and unity will be tested and scrutinized — among teammates, between Black players and white coaches, between athletes and institutions. Edsall’s participation in the video was important to his players.

“We, as a team, trust him, that he has our back for sure,” Uguak says. “Ever since these situations have occurred, I’d say we trust him even a little more now. We’ve had meetings and the way we’re planning everything out, we know exactly what is going on. With our training staff, we feel safe. We’ve seen what happened at Houston and Clemson, but we have a lot of trust with our coach. We know that he has our back.”<<

 

[BlueDogs]

It’s good they feel comfortable with Randy and feel he has their best interests at heart. There is a whole lot of mistrust and division being stoked, and the teams that keep together will be the ones that succeed in short and long term.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

It’s good they feel comfortable with Randy and feel he has their best interests at heart. There is a whole lot of mistrust and division being stoked, and the teams that keep together will be the ones that succeed in short and long term.

I disagree with the premise that "division is being stoked." There has always been a division, whether people accepted it or not. Some people are treated differently, not for who they are, but simply for how they look.

Kudos to these leaders are calling out this stuff. The sooner we can all work together to severely limit the impact of institutional racism, the better off we'll all be.

 

[BlueMAB]

It’s good they feel comfortable with Randy and feel he has their best interests at heart. There is a whole lot of mistrust and division being stoked, and the teams that keep together will be the ones that succeed in short and long term.

This mistrust and division has always been there.

People who are comfortable and insulated just don't see it (whether by choice, privilege, or subconscious bias).

 

[hardcorehusky]

From a UConn football perspective - this is article is gold. Randy being part of the video was important and keeping on the same page is what Randy said was needed and now it appears to be there. The next step is building the players on the field individually and as a team. This recruiting class appears to be addressing that. Things are looking up - too bad the fans want to see wins before coming back. If I didn't have tickets already, I would be inquiring just because of this team's spirit and unity.

 

[cohenzone]

I disagree with the premise that "division is being stoked." There has always been a division, whether people accepted it or not. Some people are treated differently, not for who they are, but simply for how they look.

Kudos to these leaders are calling out this stuff. The sooner we can all work together to severely limit the impact of institutional racism, the better off we'll all be.

I think stoked in this case means a current open play to divisiveness by some currently in the public eye who are in a position of influence. Obviously the unequal treatment of the races and some religious groups has been around the US forever perpetuated by the underlying attitudes of a big chunk of the controlling groups. We are in one of those times when the underlying problem is exposed by a bad event and the divisiveness explodes to a point where people of good will are willing to speak out.

The feature of US history that has tended to make our country “exceptional” is that while it might take way too long for some things to change, sustained protest tends to force positive change despite the howls of people threatened by the change that the protests represent. Good is already being forced into our public laws and institutions by the murder of one man. Sports are a major place of racial mix and where there is some influence on the greater population. Good for these young athletes speaking out.

 

[TheDrifter75]

This mistrust and division has always been there.

People who are comfortable and insulated just don't see it (whether by choice, privilege, or subconscious bias).

I guess we all see comments differently. I didn't see his comment as saying there was not mistrust and division but that fuel was being added or flames fanned. Teams that allow that to burn them up will be less successful.

 

[BlueDogs]

I disagree with the premise that "division is being stoked." There has always been a division, whether people accepted it or not. Some people are treated differently, not for who they are, but simply for how they look.

Kudos to these leaders are calling out this stuff. The sooner we can all work together to severely limit the impact of institutional racism, the better off we'll all be.

Institutional racism is a slogan not a fact. Racism is a fact among some, as is the disproportionate cultural disintegration of the black family and disproportionate rate of crime

 

[BlueDogs]

Institutional racism is a slogan not a fact. Racism is a fact among some, as is the disproportionate cultural disintegration of the black family and disproportionate rate of crime

the point was there is work to do on all sides of the equation. Working together as one and trusting each other goes a long way. I refuse to accept that people of good will can’t solve things for a better outcome.

 

[BlueMAB]

Institutional racism is a slogan not a fact. Racism is a fact among some, as is the disproportionate cultural disintegration of the black family and disproportionate rate of crime

Institutional racism is a fact and is largely to blame for the disintegration of the black family and disproportionate rate of crime. One must ignore the behavior of the police, and the results of the criminal justice system (two American institutions) to assume it isn't real.

You see when you account for demographics, white people aren’t: pulled over as often, given tickets as often, arrested as often, as likely to remain in jail only because they can’t afford bail, found guilty as often, and are given lesser sentences when convicted of the same crimes.

One might assume, from the outside looking in, that most of the ails facing black America are self-inflicted. One would have to be incredibly arrogant and ignorant to assume that.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

Institutional racism is a slogan not a fact. Racism is a fact among some, as is the disproportionate cultural disintegration of the black family and disproportionate rate of crime

Institutional and structural racism are real. Whether you accept that reality makes no difference.

Of all places, Ben and Jerry's actually has a great website about data supporting this:

* White Americans control 90% of all American wealth: Black Americans control 2.6%
* Black Americans are twice as likely to be unemployed than White Americans
* Black Americans with College Degrees are Twice as Likely to be Unemployed than Other College Graduates
* One Study found people with Black Sounding Names were called back at Half the rate as White Sounding Names with identical resumes
* Black students are 3 times more likely to be suspended from school -- for the same infractions
* Black Americans make up 40% of the prison population despite being only 13% of the population
* Black Americans convicted of a crime were 20% more likely to be given jail time for a crime and were given, on average, 20% more jail time for the same crime as a white person
* Black Americans are 30% more likely to be pulled over than White Americans

Source: 7 Ways We Know Systemic Racism is Real

It would be worth educating yourself about the disadvantages Black Americans face so you can face your own unconscious biases.

If you can look at all that data and still ignore it and say institutional racism isn't real, then I worry for you, friend.

 

[BlueMAB]

We haven't even mentioned redlining and loan discrimination (home ownership is another american institution) and the resulting segregation and its impact.