Their goal is to make an impact
Turgeon, Locksley among Maryland representatives on Anti-Racism Coalition
Maryland men’s basketball coach Mark Turgeon, women’s basketball coach Brenda Frese and football coach Mike Locksley are among the university’s representatives as part of the Big Ten’s Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism Coalition.
The conference on Monday announced the members from all 14 member institutions, which include student-athletes, coaches, athletic directors, chancellors, presidents and other university representatives.
The other Maryland representatives include Abir Chaudhry, executive assistant for the football team; Maxwell Costes, junior infielder for Maryland baseball; Damon Evans, athletic director; Cheryl Harrison, senior associate athletic director; Johnny Holiday, play-by-play announcer for Maryland football and men’s basketball; Bruce G. James Jr., former Maryland football player; Wallace Loh; outgoing university president; Chigoziem Okonkwo, junior tight end for Maryland football; Sue Sherburne, senior associate athletic director; Andrew Valmon, head coach of men’s and women’s track and field; and Taylor Wilson, junior infielder for Maryland softball.
“I’m proud to be a representative of the Big Ten’s Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism Coalition as the entire conference comes together to encourage, educate and empower our student-athletes in discussing meaningful social issues,” Turgeon said in a statement. “We have had great discussions within our team and the athletics department about how we can make an impact in our community. We are committed to using our platform for the betterment of society as a whole.”
The formation of the coalition comes following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis on May 25 after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, as well the
killing of other black men and women at the hands of police, and nationwide protests calling for racial equality.
Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren on June 1 issued an open letter announcing the creation of the coalition to help combat racism and allow student-athletes to express their rights to free speech and peaceful protest.
Several college athletes and former college stars have used their voices in recent weeks to bring attention to racial injustice. Former Clemson stars Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins called on their alma mater to rename the school’s honor college, which was named after a staunch supporter of slavery. Clemson’s board of trustees on Friday voted to rename the honors college.
“The events in our country and around the world during the past few months have strengthened my fundamental belief in our need to develop tangible and actionable efforts in a collective manner and provide viable solutions addressing the issues of hate and racism in our society,” Warren said in a news release.
“Wehave the distinct opportunity and responsibility through our Coalition to continually encourage, educate and empower our student-athletes as we embrace transparent and much-needed dialogue regarding meaningful issues that have impacted race relations for many years.”
The Big Ten on Monday also announced the launch of its Voter Registration Initiative, which has been in the works since February.
The initiative is a conference-wide collaboration that allows student-athletes to take place in the election process. The non-partisan initiative includes representatives from all Big Ten universities and will include monthly educational programming that begins in July, continuing through the general election on Nov. 3. The programming is designed to teach student-athletes the importance of voting, how to register to vote and submit a ballot, in person or absentee.
The NCAA last week released a statement urging all schools to assist student-athletes in voting in the election and designate Nov. 3 as a day off from athletic activities to allow athletes to vote .
Warren called the initiative a “natural extension of the conversation within the Coalition. An election year provides the opportunity to educate our studentathletes in a non-partisan fashion regarding the importance of exercising their civic right to clearly understand the political process, register to vote, cast a vote during the upcoming election, and provide adequate support to combat voter suppression.
“We are at an inflection point in our country. Empowering our student-athletes by encouraging them to use their voices illustrates how we can collectively work together to build a better future.”
Said Locksley: “I commend Commissioner Warren and the Big Ten Conference for taking action and being part of the solution. I am honored to be part of this Coalition and look forward to having tough conversations that lead to significant change.
“Our student-athletes at Maryland have taken it upon themselves to make an impact by not only registering themselves to vote, but also getting out into our community to encourage voter registration and participation on election days. It gives me great pride to see the Big Ten also institute a Voter Registration Initiative that I strongly believe can have a lasting impact.”