What pushed Marcus Lattimore to speak on social issues? ‘It’s impossible to be quiet’
Marcus Lattimore looked not just across the United States, but across the world.
He said he’s seen the support for the Black Lives Matter movement not just within the borders of his native country but as far off as Amsterdam, Australia and Africa. He’s stepped forward and spoke his mind, made known his feelings in the midst of a surge of activism and energy that followed the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of police.
The feelings are complex and nuanced, hard to boil down to just a sentence or a paragraph. But the reason he speaks, and the reason he sees as why Americans all over are speaking up, that is in some ways clear.
“It’s almost impossible to be quiet,” Lattimore said, “with the state of the world.”
Lattimore has long been a man with a desire to study and understand the world in its larger context. After his time as an athlete was over, he worked with young people through his camps, then spent several years with a hand in developing young men as part of South Carolina’s football program. But since leaving that post, he’s spent more time focusing on studying psychology, reading, writing and trying to better understand the human mind.
It can, at times, be reductive to refer to him as a former Gamecocks football star and NFL player, as athletes are often not seen fully for the people they are by those who root for them. But as a thinker and a person with a platform, Lattimore has seen the moment the United States is in and tried to use his platform to speak up.
“These injustices that are happening on a daily basis, people’s awareness has been heightened,” Lattimore said. “And because of that, people want to share their experiences. It’s hard to hold your tongue when you see injustice. It’s hard to hold your tongue when you see obvious disparities.”
He spoke of seeing people’s pain coming through, seeing confusion and a sense of not being satisfied with the state of the world coming to the forefront. He saw people sick and tired of the same situations of police brutality happening again and again.
The response is coming in many forms. Some anger, some supporting black businesses, many looking themselves in the mirror and asking if it’s time to stand up or to confront why they aren’t standing up.
At some points, it’s meant moments of awkwardness with friends, having to confront people in his life when it might be more comfortable to let things sit.
At one point in recent weeks, he had some strong words for a former coach who posted something on social media supporting President Trump, possibly as a pushback against the protests and conversations after Floyd’s death. Lattimore did not begrudge the man the right to support Trump, but felt it was a decision made to antagonize.
“I called him out on it not because of what he voted for, but because of the timing of when he posted it,” Lattimore said, “because the insensitivity to Black Lives Matter movement. When you’ve been coaching young black men who have dealt with police brutality, one might have dealt with police brutality throughout their whole life. You have to be more aware of what you’re doing,”
For Lattimore, not speaking up was doing a disservice to marginalized groups, even if his success as an athlete and adult had at times shielded him personally from some realities of police culture. (There was an troubling spring incident in Nebraska that has not yet been fully resolved.)
Lattimore described Floyd’s death as sparking the world, and that spark was even felt in Columbia, at one point highlighted by the players wearing the uniform he once wore, young men he had a role in helping develop as people.
“We have an intentional group who feel that their purpose is way bigger than sports,” Lattimore said. “They realize that sports is a vehicle and they have this platform.
“I couldn’t be more proud to be affiliated with them, with what they’re doing and how they’re doing it.”
He mentioned voices such as Jay Urich, Dakereon Joyner and Ryan Hilinski, only a few of many who stand out, showing their leadership and speaking up.
He also said he felt Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp values the voices of his coaches and believes in equality. That’s why coaches were comfortable speaking up, even though the sports world at times tries to step back from political issues.
In Lattimore’s mind, football is a place for barriers to be broken.
He noted it’s a conversation that needs to keep going. It can’t hit a point of contentment because there’s still work to be done. And he will not let his voice go quiet.
“For me to advocate and speak on this topic, I think it’s important because I’ve experienced both sides,” Lattimore said. “Athletics is a place where you can transcend race. ... And I’ve also experienced what it’s like to be treated unfairly because of the color of my skin. So I have both perspectives.”
This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 2:42 PM.
