K-State launches diversity programs

KANSAS CITY, MO. » Kansas State is launching a diversity and education fund amid several other initiatives to address racial injustice after football players threatened a boycott in response to an insensitive tweet by a student about the death of George Floyd.

The fund will allow boosters to funnel money directly to initiatives within the athletic department that “actively seek inclusive and diverse community through educational programming and support of all student-athletes, coaches and staff.”

“We will not stand for social injustice,” Wildcats athletic director Gene Taylor said in a statement July 1. “Now is the time for us to build upon the diversity and inclusion program that we launched two years ago and make bigger strides in the area of racial injustice and racism.”

June 25, one month after Floyd died when a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on the Black handcuffed man’s neck for nearly eight minutes, Kansas State student Jaden McNeil tweeted: “Congratulations to George Floyd on being drug free for an entire month!”

Several football players immediately threatened to boycott if the university declined to take action, and basketball players and other athletes soon joined the push. On June 28, the football team issued a formal statement calling on university President Richard Myers and other administrative staff to make meaningful changes to the campus culture.

McNeil, whose account was briefly disabled by Twitter, describes himself as the founder of a group called America First Students that is a “mainstream, Christian, conservative organization that supports President Donald Trump.” Kansas State said the club is not currently registered on campus due to lack of membership.

“The university has committed to developing meaningful, measurable action plans with concrete steps,” Myers wrote in an open letter July 1. “These proposed steps take into account the reality that, as a governmental entity, we must operate within the law. There have been many calls for us to expel a student who posted racist messages on social media, and while these messages are disrespectful and abhorrent, we cannot violate the law.”

Among other initiatives, Kansas State promised that student-athletes, coaches and staff would undergo mandatory diversity and inclusion training that includes monthly town hall sessions; redouble efforts to recruit applicants from diverse backgrounds for staff and coaching positions; utilize home games to support the Black Lives Matter movement; highlight Black History Month; and provide transportation to student-athletes to voting locations on Election Day.

Football coach Chris Klieman, who is entering his second season, said he supported his players and that “I am excited to help every player unite for the solution now, so that we can come together stronger than ever. Black lives matter.”