College athletes coming together to promote change

SAN JOSE, CALIF. » Whether talking to a teammate, close friend or complete stranger, San Jose State football player Drew Jenkins has a go-to question when discussing hot-button topics: “Are you OK with the society you live in?”

“And most of their answers are no, they’re not OK,” the sophomore defensive back said. “So, then you should take it into your own hands and see if something’s going wrong. You should be able to do something about it. You don’t want to just sit on the sidelines, just like you don’t want to sit on the sidelines when you’re in a game.”

A political science major, Jenkins has spent the past several months suiting action to words, joining fellow students across the country in using the platforms they have as athletes to speak out about issues like racism and police brutality. They are helping educate their peers about what it feels like to live as a minority, embracing the responsibility to try to create tangible change.

For many, the push has led to the formation of athlete groups dedicated to inclusion and outreach. In fact, every Pac-12 Conference university now has some form of coalition to support Black and minority athletes — eight of those organizations were established over the past year, some still in the early planning stages, while others have built on what they already had in place.

At San Jose State, Jenkins and teammate Christian Webb are involved in a group called People of Change and led a march last year. Last Friday, they made a presentation to their teammates on Black history and why it is celebrated in February “just to educate them on this month,” Jenkins said.

They also hope to hold an event in the coming weeks to raise money for further community action, with plans to meet as an entire organization sometime in March if it can be done safely under COVID-19 protocols.

Many of the groups emerged in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death last May while he was in the custody of Minneapolis police.

“It’s just somewhere to go and people that you trust and that you feel safe also voicing your opinion with,” said University of California baseball player Darren Baker, whose father, Dusty, manages the Houston Astros. “I think it was something that was long overdue. It’s unfortunate that some events around the country had to happen for this to finally become a thing, but I’m glad it did.”