Clemson will have social justice messages painted on field at home football games
The Clemson football program will continue to bring awareness to social justice by displaying messages on the field during home games this fall.
Clemson will have four black boxes on different parts of the sidelines during home game this season, beginning Saturday when the Tigers host The Citadel in their home opener. Two of the boxes will have “unity” painted in them, while the other two will have “equality.”
The football team is planning to highlight social justice throughout this season, and the Tigers wore helmet stickers with different phrases for last week’s game against Wake Forest, including: “LOVE,” “EQUALITY” and “BLACK LIVES MATTER.”
Clemson players said prior to the 2020 season that they planned to bring awareness to social justice this fall, and the words being displayed on the sidelines is the latest measure they are taking.
“This is a way to show them that Clemson athletics has their back. This is one of the biggest stages that we have in order to show that we support them,” Clemson associate athletic director for strategic communications Jeff Kallin said. “That was brought to us by the student-athletes as an idea.”
Kallin added that Clemson athletics director Dan Radakovich and football coach Dabo Swinney were a part of the process and spoke with the athletes about the messages being displayed on the field.
“Both of those individuals are involved in the decision-making process and are enthusiastic about it,” Kallin said. “It was really just how do we make sure that it’s done tastefully and appropriately and they’ve been really supportive of the effort.”
Next Clemson football game
Who: Clemson vs. The Citadel
When: 4 p.m. Saturday
TV: ACC Network
This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 6:00 PM.
