Four years ago, in the wake of Colin Kaepernick’s silent protest against police brutality, high school athletes across the country were warned of severe consequences if they emulated the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback and knelt in protest during the national anthem.
Across Pennsylvania, as in much of the nation, schools, coaches and players found themselves in the crosshairs of what became a divisive conversation on racism.
In some places football games were canceled, students were suspended from teams and at least one Allegheny County superintendent received death threats after cheerleaders took a knee. Race became a taboo topic in many locker rooms.
Now amid the national protest movement for racial justice sparked by the killing of George Floyd high school football has emerged a forum for conversations on racial tolerance and sensitivity.
Once a place where coaches and even players tiptoed around these potentially volatile topics, the football locker room and field — by way of online webinars — has become the backdrop to potentially transformative conversations between coaches and players.
“What better example of how this country should be than the football huddle,” said Jeff Weachter, head football coach at Bishop McDevitt High School. “There, no matter what your religion or race, we have a common goal. When we break huddle it is to succeed. It’s part of our responsibility as coaches to help out and educate our young men of positive change. All society has to do it. Sports is a melting pot to begin with but as teachers, all educators should be striving for this and every day try to make a positive change in the world.”
Two weekends ago, as the first of many protests played out across the region, Weachter realized he needed to engage his players in the conversation.
He reached out to Mikell Simpson, who as founder of Capital Rebirth, a nonprofit focused on racial justice, had organized some of the protests. Weachter asked Simpson, a former Harrisburg High and college player, to speak to his squad about racial justice.
The meeting was held over Zoom.
“We talked about some uncomfortable things,” said Weachter, who is white and whose team is split practically down the middle racially, with almost half the players being white and the other half members of minority groups.
“I learned some things there. Mikell shared his life experience. We just talked about standing up for each other and loving each other and understanding why we all, everybody not just the team, needs to stand up for change.”
Floyd’s killing at the hands of police, has removed some of the barriers that have silenced the sports world out of the conversation on racism.
In the past two weeks, well-known athletes and sports top brass have spoken out about racial injustice and police brutality. Even the NFL’s Roger Goodell reversed his previous hardline stance on Kaepernick’s silent protest and condemned “racism and the systemic oppression of black people.”
“We … admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest,” Goodell said in a statement.
High school coaches from around the region have acted on their own volition, and even some of the most reserved ones are speaking out.
Middletown's head coach Brett Myers is known for his reserved manner, but he said he could not sit out on the current conversation on racial justice. Sean Simmers | ssimmers@pennlive.com
Middletown High School head football coach Brett Myers is known for his reluctance to speak out on any topic - even football- but the emergent national conversation on racial justice and racism has prompted Myers to also reach out to Simpson. The Middletown squad was slated to meet with him via webinar on Wednesday night.
Myers said his football program focuses on helping everyone improve and learn. He said having Simpson lead a conversation on racial justice seemed the right thing to do.
“If society was more like a locker room, it would look a lot different,” said Myers, who is white. “There's real conversation in those locker rooms and guys who care about each other not because of what they look like or their religious affiliation. The experience in a locker room and in a team could lead down the road to people being less judgmental of what people look like.”
He said he is blown away by the idea that Kaepernick thrust the conversation into the national realm four years ago.
“We have the same issues. Police brutality. We have to do something better as a society,” Myers said. “I don't get much into politics. I‘m a simple person. A football coach. But Colin Kaepernick was trying to say that something was wrong in the world and we haven't done anything. Something was wrong in 2016 and now it’s 2020 and we still haven't made changes that need to be made.”
Simpson said he has been encouraged by the exchanges that players are sharing on social media.
“Conversations are a start to understanding, which hopefully lead to solutions,” he said. “Without conversation there is no understanding and the world will remain divided.”
Simpson said he hopes to enlighten non-black players of the challenges their black teammates face simply negotiating their lives.
Simpson, who played football for Harrisburg High shared his encounters with racism and excessive police treatment. He has been pulled over by police in Harrisburg. As a high school junior, Simpson was being recruited by Penn State, but an incident on the campus made him think otherwise about playing for the Lions.
“I was walking around Penn State, I was being recruited and I ‘m hearing people from dorm rooms shouting the N word at me,” said Simpson, who is biracial. “You can call me the ‘N’ word but I ‘m not going to live up to that.”
He went on to play for the University of Virginia.
As head football coach for a predominantly black team, Harrisburg High’s Calvin Everett welcomes what he described as a much-needed conversation on race in the sports realm.
“I think it’s extremely important for the young men we are leading at the present moment,” he said. “These are the future leaders, in particular the young men I‘m leading. The majority are African American. They are going to or have experienced racial injustice at some point in their life. It’s extremely important.”
Everett’s squad had been actively involved in the Kaepernick-inspired protests throughout the last several seasons, although the team typically took a knee away from the field prior to games.
“It’s not that we wouldn’t stand for the flag but now people are starting to understand Kaepernick’s message,” Everett said. “At the beginning everyone thought it was about disrespecting the flag. This is much bigger than the flag. This is about black people being treated unfairly and social injustice that comes with the color of your skin. But most people associate it with disrespecting the flag. That's not the intent. It’s to bring awareness to injustice that black people have to endure.”
Harrisburg head coach Calvin Everett said most people misunderstood Kaepernick's intent..."most people associate it with disrespecting the flag. That's not the intent. It’s to bring awareness to injustice that black people have to endure.” Vicki Vellios Briner | Special to PennLiveVicki Vellios Briner | Special to PennLive
High school sports across Pennsylvania, particularly football, is not impervious to racism. For years, black players have complained of being verbally assaulted with racial slurs at times when they visit predominantly white schools.
“It’s small little things that make you scratch your head,” Everett said.
Indeed, Simpson said the conversation of tolerance and reconciliation needs to also happen in the stands.
“Let’s uplift everybody, no matter what race,” Simpson said. “You can support us at the game but if you go home and you don’t have the same respect for us that you have for us as athletes, then you’re perpetuating the problem. We should be viewed and treated off the field as we are on the field. With respect.”
Joseph Headen, head football coach at Susquehanna Township High School, has spent years trying to engage community stakeholders in the conversation on racism.
He said the dialogue emerging in the sports world, particularly high school football, is a step in the right direction, but it has to engage everyone.
“We need more black and brown people to teach. We also need more black and brown people in law enforcement,” Headen said. “The same way we approach education is the way we should take the initiative to approach problems in society. How do we reach out to young minorities? How do we get change so we can prevent those things from happening again. We can prevent situations where people end up dying.”
Headen, who is black, welcomes that America is changing its perception of what Kaepernick was trying to do, and the message he was trying to deliver.
“Tying the Colin Kaepernick piece to what is happening now, everyone is disappointed by comments made by Drew Brees,” Headen said. “ It’s amazing how sports seems to be the No. 1 thoroughfare for that information. You are seeing prominent sports people debate this as much as governors and leaders. It goes to show you how much of an effect prominent sports figures have. It’s amazing how sports influences our society. I think it’s helping the cause.”
RELATED:
‘What can I do to fix this?’: Why young people are fueling the protest movement
PIAA gives green light on resuming high school athletics following state guidelines
Is Racism in high school sports being tolerated?
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