Gamecocks Staley, Martin, Muschamp, Tanner weigh in on issues of social injustice
As protests broke out in Minneapolis and spread across the country following the death of George Floyd in police custody, athletes started to speak up.
Former NBA player Stephen Jackson was a close friend of Floyd and delivered several emotional messages. LeBron James and Lisa Leslie posted images putting side by side Collin Kaepernick’s kneeling protest and a Minneapolis Police officer with a knee on Floyd’s neck.
In South Carolina, college players took to social media to talk about injustice in the United States at large, with Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and South Carolina’s Ryan Hilinski being among the highest profile.
Gamecocks women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley had been talking about it even earlier on social media, posting Wednesday about Floyd’s death and followed with more posts about issues with police. She posted a picture Saturday that appeared to be from a downtown Columbia protest.
On Friday, Gamecocks assistant Joe Cox penned a note on the subject. His boss, head coach Will Muschamp retweeted it as well as a tweet on the subject form South Carolina governor Henry McMaster.
And Saturday, as protests in Columbia saw escalating tensions with police, South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp and athletic director Ray Tanner each posted their own short general messages to social media about social injustice.
Saturday in Columbia headed into the evening with a state of emergency curfew declared by the city’s mayor, Steve Benjamin.
Later in the evening, men’s basketball coach Frank Martin and his wife Anya penned a longer note on policing, race in America and a call to act.
This story was originally published May 30, 2020 at 6:52 PM.
