Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Coaches discuss Black Lives Matter movement with players
The raw emotion Johnny Dawkins felt extended well past the characters in his social media post as the UCF men’s basketball coach expressed his outrage over the death of George Floyd.
Floyd died on May 25 when a white Minneapolis police officer pinned his knee to Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes despite Floyd complaining he could not breathe. The cell phone video of the arrest sparked protests against police brutality and racial injustice in all 50 states and around the world.
“I am a Black man, I have Black children. I am a Black coach, I have Black players. And honestly, I am angry,” Dawkins wrote on Twitter a week later. “George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery — these are tragedies, if you are human, you should be outraged!”
Dawkins has been the coach of the Knights since 2016 and while he hasn’t been able to meet with his players face-to-face because of the coronavirus pandemic, the 56-year-old has been able to discuss the impact of Floyd’s death and the surge in support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
“You just want to continue to educate our players,” Dawkins told the Orlando Sentinel. “You want to educate them just like our teachers, professors and mentors educated us coming up. And then listen to our young people. Even though we’re older and we have a lot more wisdom and experience, it doesn’t mean we have all the answers.
“You want to listen to them, give them a platform where you can hear their thoughts and impart information you think is pertinent and relevant to what is going on now. It’s a shared experience.”
Dawkins isn’t the only coach in the state of Florida spending time discussing social justice.
Florida men’s basketball coach Mike White has seen the impact Floyd’s death has had on his players. For example, sophomore guard Scottie Lewis organized a peaceful protest in his hometown of Asbury Park, New Jersey, on June 5.
“I support all our guys in their endeavors,” said White, 43, during a videoconference call with reporters. “This is such an important movement and they’ve got such a big platform they’re utilizing. Scottie as much as anyone. He’s magnetic. We all know that. He’s very powerful, he’s very educated and he’s very passionate about this cause. I’m just proud I’m on his team.
White added, “This is a time in our country and really throughout the world where we could all stand to be educated a little bit more. We all need to continue to educate each other and learn and listen. I’m very proud of our guys at how they’re utilizing their platform.”
Florida State men’s basketball coach Leonard Hamilton, 71, witnessed transformation during the civil-rights movement of the 1960s. He said the current wave of social-justice activity is unique because of the number of people from various backgrounds involved in it.
“The social unrest we’ve had, we’ve had a lot of issues over the years that’s triggered this international response, but the response is what’s different,” Hamilton said. “We’ve consistently had issues year after year, but we’ve never had a global response to the social issues that we’re having today. It’s creating a whole other mindset. And then the divisiveness and the political unrest we have is unlike anything we’ve ever seen.
“From a student-athlete perspective, that entire age group, it has to be confusing to them because it’s extremely disappointing and confusing to us as adults to you know what it must be like for our players with the uncertainty as to how we move forward.”
Hamilton said there have always been open and honest discussions with his players about off-the-court issues.
“We want to utilize these moments to grow and mature,” he said.
Dawkins is among the college basketball coaches nationwide encouraging players to take their social justice interest and focus it on playing a bigger role in the upcoming national elections. From helping players and others to register to vote to giving players Election Day (Nov. 3) off, the coaches have been trying to give players tools to make an impact.
“It’s important because it’s one of our rights and we should exercise it,” Dawkins said of allowing time off to vote. “We’re not telling people how to cast their votes or anything. It’s just a message that you should vote. You should be a part of the process. It’s a wonderful thing and not everybody has these rights around the world.
“If you’re Black, just think the right to vote hasn’t been around that long for African American players. To think, I was born in 1963, and we didn’t get to exercise the right to vote until 1965. So you’re looking at situations where you’re able to educate the studentathletes on the importance of participating in something that a lot of people fought for and died for you to have.”