They began where they hope to be on Thanksgiving weekend.
Ford Field, which will host the high school football state championship games in November, is where many Detroit Public School League football coaches began their march Thursday to the Spirit of Detroit.
But Zach Carr, an assistant coach at Denby wanted to make something crystal clear.
“The main thing was this is not a protest because a protest has a negative tone to it now,” Carr insisted. “This is a peace walk, a peaceful march. Coaches from all communities coming together. This is a call to all coaches across the nation to stand up, be unified as one and protect our youth.”
This peace march was in response to the senseless death of George Floyd, the Minneapolis man killed last week while a police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
The coaches who gathered for the walk knew full well that situations like that could happen to their players.
“We’ve had situations where our players have been identified as threats on college campuses,” said River Rouge coach Corey Parker. “The only advice I could give them was that it’s a very painful situation that we’ve all experienced. So you have to continue to be the best version of you and not let this affect how you identify other ethnicities.”
The coaches marched down Woodward, and there was a sense of togetherness. They may be on opposite sidelines come game days, but this was much bigger than a competition.
“I think it’s great because it shows unity,” said Detroit Cass Tech coach Thomas Wilcher “It shows people out here caring about one another. It represents what we used to talk about — I’m my brother’s keeper, it takes a village. It takes everybody and that’s what’s happening right now and that’s what brought me out here.”
Coaches often spend more time with their students than any teacher in the school. They also have the biggest classroom at the school — the football field.
Right now, those coaches are frustrated with what they see happening to people of color around the country.
“We’re tired of the systems that are in place that give us injustices or the institutional racism that’s occurring,” said Detroit King coach Tyrone Spencer. “So at the end of the day it’s about letting people know enough is enough. I think everybody here agrees with that and understands that.”
Chris Merrell is the white head coach at Dearborn Advanced Technology, a program he began from scratch last year in his first year as a head coach.
He estimated 95% of his players are African American and has good relationships with many PSL coaches. He was there to listen and learn from his mentors.
“At the moment there’s not a ton else that matters more than what these guys and these women are expressing,” he said. “We see athletes, we see the kids, and sometimes the athletes are the kids that get themselves in those situations whether it’s provoked or not.
“And we’ve got to train them and teach them just like we do on the field and in the gym.”
Alex Grignon is the white head coach at Walled Lake Western, and he felt his position as a leader of young men, many of whom are African American, required him to march with the other coaches.
“I’m one that doesn’t bite my tongue often,” he said. “I’ve been pretty active on social media, supporting the cause the best that I can. Talk is cheap, we need action. When this opportunity came up, if I can come down here and show my support that they’re not alone in this fight, that’s what I wanted to do.”
Kenny Flowers is the boys basketball coach at Detroit Henry Ford, and he was at the march because football and basketball coaches share many of the same social issues.
“We’re telling kids how to deal with adversity,” he said. “Now you see what the country is going through, enough is enough. People are forming peaceful marches like this and hope we can move on from this.”
Carr is hoping the peaceful march will spread to coaches in other parts of the country.
“I always say coaches have got their ear to the streets,” he said. “We know a lot of stuff that hits before it really hits. So now we want to say: ‘Chicago, you’re next.’ We want to make this a national outcry. We want to create a hashtag: ‘CoachesUnitedas1.’ “
Wilcher was one of the coaches to speak to the group when they arrived at the Spirit of Detroit.
“I am a coach and I believe our lives matter,” he said. “I would like to say to the police officers, I know you have loved ones also that you would love to return home just like we want ours to return home. I am a father, I’m a black man, I have a son. Our lives matter.
“I believe our lives matter because we must stand for one another. We must try to protect one another. Where every time we come out our doors we have a chance to go back. And that’s one reason we’re here today, because we want everyone to come back home.”
The last time Parker had been at Ford Field, his Rouge team knocked off No. 1 Muskegon, 30-7, in a stunning upset for the state title.
We were here was for a football a game versus the top team in the state,” he said. “Today we were there for several different reasons. One of them is solidarity, unity, for being together for the same cause just as the start of the process.”
The last time Spencer was at Ford Field, his Crusaders lost the Division 2 state championship game to Muskegon Mona Shores, 35-26.
But this day was different.
“We came up short that day,” he said. “But we won today.”
Mick McCabe is a former longtime columnist for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at mick.mccabe11@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @mickmccabe1.
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