Texas football player Overshown ‘sitting out’ over racial issues

In a lengthy message that was published on his Twitter account on Thursday, University of Texas football player DeMarvion Overshown announced that he “will be sitting out all team activities.”

Overshown’s statement comes three weeks after nearly 40 student-athletes publicly called for Texas to address racial issues on its campus. In a coordinated set of tweets, the protesting athletes called for the changing of some buildings’ names and the replacement of the “Eyes of Texas” as the school’s fight song. The placement of a statue of Julius Whittier, the football program’s first Black letterman, was also listed among the demands.

Overshown, who will be a junior this fall, tweeted on Thursday that the athletes had since been told that work was being done behind closed doors. They, however, had not seen any significant changes. So Overshown will not participate in any team activities until “real action is taken and changes are made.”

Overshown cited Atlanta’s Maya Moore as a role model for this decision. Last year, Moore stepped away from her career while fighting for the overturned conviction of a family friend. Said Overshown:

“I watched WNBA All-Star Maya Moore sit out a whole year because of something that meant so much to her. With that being said, until real action is taken and changes are made I will be sitting out all team activities. I will support my team in whatever they do but this is something I’m very passionate about and I can not continue to perform for a program that doesn’t show me the same love and support I do for them.”