Herman ‘proud’ of players’ peaceful protests
AUSTIN — Earlier this month, Texas coach Tom Herman donned a black T-shirt and marched alongside players to the Texas Capitol building to protest the killing of George Floyd and racial injustice. Almost two weeks later, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy posed for a post-fishing trip photo in a white T-shirt bearing the acronym “OAN,” memorabilia from far-right news outlet One America Network.
The juxtaposition of the images was, to some, jarring.
There was Herman, a white man who earns more than $6 million a year to coach a football team that relies heavily on young black men, kneeling for nine minutes to honor Floyd as players and staffers spoke out on their own experiences with racism and the need for change both within UT and outside it. Then there was Gundy, another white head coach among the nation’s highest paid, wearing the shirt of a network that has labeled Black Lives Matter a “criminal organization.”
Cowboys tailback and Big 12 offensive player of the year Chuba Hubbard almost left the team in response to the photo of Gundy.
“I will not stand for this,” Hubbard said in a tweet. “This is completely insensitive to everything going on in society, and it’s unacceptable. I will not be doing anything with Oklahoma State until things CHANGE.”
Gundy and Hubbard came together and, at least publicly, seemed to reconcile. The hope, Hubbard said, is that Gundy’s gaffe starts an ongoing conversation.
The dialogue is just beginning at Texas, too. Longhorns past and present are still waiting to hear from the UT administration about a list of proposed changes designed to make the university more culturally and racially inclusive.
But at least in Herman, the Longhorns appear to have a coach who is willing to listen and learn. And that has caught the attention of even those who never played for the man, including former Green Beret and UT longsnapper Nate Boyer.
“I wasn’t surprised,” Boyer said. “I mean, he’s an intelligent guy. He’s a different cat. There’s no doubt about that. I feel like that’s just like sort of who he is.”
Herman said he never expected the team’s march to the Capitol to be a singular event. In speaking with the players who helped organize the event, the coach understood their walk was only the opening act of a much larger, more concerted effort involving student-athletes from all 20 varsity athletic programs.
“The march really was just powerful for me, just to have everybody behind this movement,” Texas junior safety Caden Sterns said. “It is something that’s really going on in society, and I think everybody’s starting to acknowledge it at least. And just to show that that we support Black Lives Matter as a team and unity is really important.
“And the biggest message, like coach said, is that this protest and marching can’t be the end result. It just serves as a symbol that there will be change. Now it’s time for action.”
Interim Texas president Jay
Hartzell and athletic director Chris Del Conte have already met with some athletes, including several football players. And current Longhorns have continued to speak out and illuminate problematic parts of UT’s past and present.
Newly empowered and emboldened, with the backing of coaches and past prominent figures, Texas athletes appear to have a better chance at being heard and implementing change than at any point in the past.
“I do think coaches are the primary support factors when it comes to things like this,” UNLV assistant and former UT women’s basketball star Nneka Enemkpali said. “If they don’t feel like me as your coach, I support you, I see you, I value you, and I want you to speak your truth, then they’re not going to feel that same level of confidence
“I’m so hopeful, but I know how Texas is on tradition. But I’m glad that coach Herman has been so supportive, and the other coaches, too.”
The Texas athletic community plans to sustain the pressure. And it will need to — change doesn’t come easy at a place as steeped in tradition as UT.
But with sustained momentum and the backing of some prominent figures, there’s a chance these discussions yield some tangible solutions.
“I think this is a great opportunity for the young people in our society to express themselves, and not just express themselves for the sake of expressing themselves but express themselves and take action that leads to positive change throughout our society,” Herman said. “And our guys, extremely proud of them for what they’ve done up into this point, but maybe even prouder of the continuation of that mindset of being active in affecting change.”