UW officials determined to fight racism with action
MADISON – Sheridan Blanford’s decision to leave the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and join the Wisconsin athletic department in the summer of 2017 went largely unnoticed by UW fans.
Ditto for Michael Jackson’s decision to leave Northwestern Mutual and join the UW athletic department in January.
Yet during a time UW and other schools across the country are being challenged by their student-athletes to take the steps needed to dismantle racism on campuses and ensure people of color feel safe and welcome, the guidance of Jackson and Blanford could prove invaluable.
UW in 2016 was among only a handful of Division I schools to add a director of Diversity & Inclusion. Blanford joined the staff in ’17 and was named director in ’18.
Jackson, a graduate of Milwaukee King High School who joined the UW men’s basketball program as a walk-on in the 2001-02 season and later participated in track and field, returned to UW as an associate athletic director overseeing development.
In addition to working on a plan to ensure racial equity at UW, Jackson is among eight UW representatives on the
Big Ten's Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism Coalition, which was formed recently by commissioner Kevin Warren.
“He has been instrumental in helping us devise a plan to address these issues,” UW athletic director Barry Alvarez said of Jackson during a recent virtual town hall with UW fans, “and to be a leader in finding a solution to these issues in our communities.”
The other UW representatives on the Big Ten's coalition:
Alvarez, Chancellor Rebecca Blank, deputy athletic director Chris McIntosh, football coach Paul Chryst, softball coach Yvette Healy and student-athletes Madison Cone (football) and Tyra Turner (softball).
Jackson spoke to the UW athletic board earlier this month.
“Our goal as a department is to ensure that the student-athlete experience is best in class,” he said. “And I think as you take a look at the strategic plan that we're working on, we're taking the necessary steps to ensure we meet those objectives.”
Hanna Barton of McFarland and Banke Oginni, former members of the UW women's track and field team, worked together to send a letter earlier this month to Alvarez and the athletic board.
In the letter, signed by more than 400 current and former UW athletes, they implore UW administrators to do more than talk about ending systemic racism:
“While we commend the recent statements made by the athletic department and other coaching staffs condemning racism and acknowledging the pain that Black communities across the country are experiencing, we urge you to go a step further. As Wisconsin student-athletes, we believe that Wisconsin Athletics needs to actively work to dismantle racism within our athletic community and greater nation. This must start within ourselves and our own actions, but cannot stop there.
“Listening to the Black community is imperative, yet it is now on the larger Wisconsin Athletics community to actively address the specific concerns raised and meaningfully work towards the profound change that is desperately needed.”
McIntosh,
speaking
with
Alvarez during the recent virtual town hall, noted UW has taken the necessary first steps.
“I think the first thing that we did was we listened,” said McIntosh, an AllAmerican offensive tackle under Alvarez as a senior in 1999 who returned to UW in December 2014. “We listened to what is happening in the community. We listened to our student-athletes, both current and former.
"And we realized it wasn't enough for us just to be passive. Coach Alvarez made a pledge that we would be very active in being part of the solution.
"Couldn't be more proud of our student-athletes who have taken a lead in this. And that's not surprising. That's something that we're about here. It's not the first time.
“Our coaches and our administrators have become very active. We're very active with the Big Ten in the Big Ten AntiHate and Anti-Racism Coalition.”
Chryst, who has worked in college and professional locker rooms for three decades, is comfortable with his players expressing their thoughts on racism and social justice. He encourages them to find their voice.
Players such as Cone, wide receiver Kendric Pryor, quarterback Graham Mertz, safety Collin Wilder and running back Garrett Groshek are among members of the current team who share their thoughts on Twitter without hesitation or fear of reprimand.
“I think that's part of college, right?” Chryst said during a recent Zoom session with reporters. “You come to college and there's a lot of things going on, a lot of really good things going on. Part of it is being exposed to different things and then kind of formulating your beliefs. Then it's how do you express your beliefs, and how do you do it in a way that fits you, in a way that represents you the way you want to be represented? There's a lot that goes into this.
“I think that's part of the growth and, to me, that's a big part of this. For our program, nothing matters more than our players and it's our players' growth, growth as football players, certainly, but growth as students, growth as people.
“And to see them growing and to see them finding ways to feel comfortable with what their beliefs are and how to express those beliefs, I think those are some of the really good things that we get to be around coaching young men at this point in their life.”