Ra’Von Bonner said none of his Illinois football teammates would describe him as outspoken or fiery. But earlier this week, he found himself on a street corner with a megaphone in his hand and an impassioned message flowing from deep inside.
Bonner, a senior running back, was demonstrating near his hometown of Cincinnati with a friend against police brutality and racism.
“One girl just shouted, ‘Get on the megaphone,'” he said, “essentially saying, ‘We need to hear your voice.’ I’m usually not a person who is loud. I’m more laid back and calm. But in that moment, I just let it all out. I’m tired of waking every day as a black man in this country and being afraid that it could be my last.”
And he doesn’t plan to stop spreading the message.
Bonner is one of many athletes across the nation speaking out about racial injustice in the wake of the George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis by a white police officer as well as other highly publicized killings of innocent black people like Breonna Taylor in Louisville and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.
Nearly every professional and college team has made a statement in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Several athletes at the professional and college level have also marched and posted anti-racist messages on social media. NFL players demanded in a video that their league condemn racism and admit wrong on silencing players for protesting.
Lovie Smith, the university’s first African American head football coach, said in an NBC Sports interview with Mike Tirico that now is the time to acknowledge “systemic racism exists.”
“Football coaches, we live in a cocoon a lot of times where the real world doesn’t actually touch us,” he said. “We teach. We develop. … I always our encourage our players to be involved in the normal world.”
Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman said in a statement the school must be an “agent of change” and mandated virtual meetings by teams to discuss racial inequities.
Never before have so many in sports — and the rest of the nation — delved into conversations about race. Bonner said that makes this moment in history a unique opportunity to be seized. So expect players to continue pushing the dialogue on campus in upcoming seasons.
“Across the country, this movement is going to keep going and a lot of people are going to be upset with a lot of us,” Bonner said. “You will see the movement being pushed and advanced.”
While most teams have been limited to video conference calls, they will be reconvening soon as universities plan to bring athletes back to campus even as the fall sports season is uncertain. Illinois football players began returning to Champaign last week and expect to begin voluntary workouts on June 11.
Before attention to protests wane or the restart of games distracts us, athletes play a key role in keeping the nation tuned in to the calls for equality.
Sports — often with its racially diverse rosters and coaching staffs — could be the perfect arena to model change.
“Sports is a great platform to be an example and start a movement of racial reconciliation,” Bonner said. “I want people to see that. I don’t want my generation to become complacent and hope the next generation does it better. We have an opportunity right now to change it all.”
That includes the way athletes are perceived as one-dimensional beings — the mindset that prompted Fox News host Laura Ingraham to infamously say LeBron James should “shut up and dribble” but later defended Saints quarterback Drew Brees for criticizing athletes who kneeled during the national anthem.
Black college athletes must navigate dual identities: cheered on the field and subject to stereotypes off it.
“The fact is I have to present myself in such a way that white people aren’t as likely to criminalize me or shoot me,” Bonner said. “Any conversation, the first thing people want to talk about is football. It’s not school. It’s not how I’m Academic All-Conference. It’s not that I’m honor society. It’s not that I graduated in three years. They love what we do. Black entertainers are No. 1 in America. You love when Lamar Jackson scores a TD. You love when LeBron James dunks a basketball. You love when Beyonce drops a new album. But you don’t love when we are speaking on things that aren’t political, but basic human rights.”
Viewpoints can vary widely on teams made up of players of various races from various parts of the country.
Even as many black athletes are calling for equality, some of their colleagues, coaches and leagues have been accused of being silent, insincere, tone deaf or defiant.
Brees received backlash from fans and several professional athletes for criticizing players who kneeled during the national anthem, saying they were “disrespecting” the flag and reminding fans of the ire directed at former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Brees later apologized.
A black Clemson football player accused a white assistant coach of using a racial slur. A Florida State player said head coach Mike Norvell lied when he said he had one-on-one conversations with every player about the country’s racial discord.
Illinois has approached these recent discussions, Bonner said, in a genuine manner. He is optimistic his white teammates will continue to listen and learn about black players’ experiences.
But he said everyone should be ready for frank conversations.
“It’s not something you can just dismiss,” Bonner said. “It has to be a real conversation. With teams across the country, it’s going to make or break some teams. It’s gotten too big at this point. That’s where we’re at now. I’m hoping that for the most part that brings a lot of people together.”
