Illini promote change in wake of George Floyd protests

CHAMPAIGN – As the nation has reacted to the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, the ramifications have been felt by the sports world too, where many figures have spoken out against police brutality in the last week.

Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman issued a statement addressing the situation on Monday, and Smith followed on Friday when he spoke on NBC Sports’ Lunch Talk Live with Mike Tirico.

Smith spoke of the racism he has witnessed firsthand over the course of his coaching career and as a black man in America.

“A few things we need to acknowledge and we can’t go much farther until we do this: systemic racism exists in our world,” Smith said. “We have to acknowledge that first before we go any farther. I’ve seen it.

“There’s one thing to identify a problem, then it’s how we change that problem. That’s what we’ve been doing at the University of Illinois. We’re trying to make the world better, but it can’t be words. I talk to our players about, ‘Hey, you have the right to protest.’ That’s great. That’s what college life is all about, in a peaceful manner. But then, ‘What else do you do?’ That’s where we are right now. What else do we do to make football better and make the world better?”

Whitman emphasized in his message that everyone has a role to play in ending racism in the world, but also in their own families and in the community.

“Adding a blip in the news cycle will not bring needed change,” Whitman said. “Change will come only if words are supported by actions, and only if those actions carry forward long after the protests subside, the cameras stop recording, and the media's attention shifts elsewhere.”

Illinois will conduct small group listening sessions, Whitman said, across its athletics programs and within the department to get feedback and create programming to improve and address problems. He also said he is “committed to seeing this important work continue long into the future.”

“Change will come when no one is watching,” Whitman said. “When what truly exists in our hearts, minds, and spirits pushes us to undertake the gritty, painstaking steps needed to precipitate a new ideal for equality in America.”

Other Illinois coaches, like basketball coach Brad Underwood, star center Kofi Cockburn and Peoria native and incoming freshman Adam Miller, have all recently spoken out publicly in the wake of Floyd’s death.

Cockburn, Miller and another Illinois recruit, Andre Curbelo, all posted edits on Instagram of them wearing jerseys with “I can’t breathe” written across the front. The phrase was repeated by both George Floyd and Eric Garner, who died after a New York police officer put him in a chokehold in 2014, in their final moments, and has become a rallying cry for many people speaking out.

Cockburn, who grew up in Jamaica but played his high school ball in Brooklyn, said he never experienced racism at a personal level while living in Jamaica, but has seen it in his time in the United States.

“Moving to the U.S., I have witnessed this heartbreaking act firsthand and I am more than capable of putting myself in someone else’s shoes,” Cockburn wrote in an Instagram post. “These are hard times that we face right now and as a people, both black and white, we need to stand up for what we know is right.”

Miller told the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette that he would continue to regularly speak out against police brutality and on other social issues because he has a platform that can be influential to those know him for his talents on the basketball court.

“I’m going to try to continue using my platform and become a voice because I know there’s a lot of kids that follow me,” Miller told the News-Gazette. “I want them to know that when they get to 18 or 19, we’re going to make a change for them. In the future, I’m going to be having kids. I don’t want my kids to go through the same problems I went through.”

Last week, Underwood released a statement expressing his solidarity with his team and those who are hurting.

“The events of these last few days have been heartbreaking,” Underwood said. “I pray for the family of George Floyd, and for healing to the pain and grief so many across our country are suffering at this time.”

“I became a coach to help young people,” Underwood continued. “And it is my responsibility as a leader to the many young black men in our program that I provide a safe environment where they can be heard and supported while processing emotions stirred from the harsh reality of the unfair world we all live in.”

He said he would be meeting with his players, most likely over Zoom, to discuss recent events and how they can continue to foster a positive environment.

Illinois student-athletes began returning to campus this week, with some football and basketball players among the first wave. Whitman has said that student-athletes will arrive back on campus in several waves, in accordance with the school’s return to voluntary training.

Gavin Good is the University of Illinois correspondent for Gannett Illinois. Contact him at gavinrg2@illinois.edu or at Twitter.com/itsallG_O_O_D.