A weekend of words has ended, and the time for action has arrived.
No one expects any one person, or any group of people, to singlehandedly end racism forever. But after a weekend in which football coaches pledged to use their platforms to create positive change around them, by the public and -- far more importantly -- by their players.
Already, we have seen two concrete examples of this.
On Wednesday, Missouri football players and coaches were part of a group of Tiger athletes that led a walk to the Columbia courthouse, where 60 players registered to vote.
Speaking of voting, Georgia Tech announced Thursday it has preemptively canceled all mandatory team activities on Election Day.
"In light of recent events, our team has had very real and meaningful conversations about how we can make a difference in our communities and in our nation," Yellow Jackets head coach Geoff Collins said. "One of those ways is to take a day that we would normally dedicate to preparing for our upcoming game and, instead, taking Tuesday, November 3 off to ensure that our student-athletes and staff have the opportunity to exercise their right to vote. My hope is that this will encourage our entire organization to participate in the most important part of citizenship in our democracy."
Georgia Tech's football team is one of nine in-season Jackets teams to cancel team activities on Election Day. They'll be joined by men's and women's basketball, volleyball, men's swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis, and men's and women's indoor track and field. The women's swim team has a meet that day, and is working to get it rescheduled.
Georgia Tech hosts Duke on Saturday, Nov. 7.
While any mandatory work will surely be offloaded to the preceding Monday and following Wednesday, and players will certainly come to the facility for "voluntary" treatment, weight lifting and film study, the fact that Georgia Tech has cleared the decks for each and every player, coach and staffer to engage in the civic process during a critical in-season day for preparation is worthy of praise and duplication.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.