Texas football takes day off practice to discuss social issues as a team
Texas football didn’t practice on Thursday, taking the day to discuss social issues.
While professional sports teams around the country are grappling with the players’ strikes, protests and racial unrest, college programs are not immune to the issues.
On Thursday, Texas football was one of those teams who decided to step away from football and focus on other concerns.
Instead of practicing, Longhorn players and coaches decided to take the day off to “discuss social issues together as a team,” according to Anwar Richardson of OrangeBloods.com.
Texas football turned its attention from football to social justice
The Longhorns were one of several programs to call attention to issues of policing and racial injustice this week. Baylor players also canceled practice, preferring to march to the center of campus and pray. Boston College, Kentucky, South Florida, Mississippi State, Western Kentucky and others called off their practices for the day in light of the Jacob Blake shooting in Wisconsin.
Some Texas players took to Twitter to express their concerns over the issues raging nationwide.
DeMarvion Overshown, a junior inside linebacker, tweeted a lengthy message beginning with the bolded phrase, “Am I next?”
“I’m a big black man and police will easily be intimidated by my size. Am I next? It’s a shame when I feel that I have to carry something with the university of Texas in my car just to have some type of protection. Am I next?” Overshown wrote. “…I’m scared. We are scared. I’m tired. We are tired. I’m fed up. We are fed up. We just want equality, fairness and justice. But yet I’m sitting here wondering….AM I NEXT?”
Defensive lineman Keondre Coburn, defensive back D’Shawn Jamison and defensive back Anthony Cook were also vocal on Twitter throughout the day.
Texas is expected to return to practice this weekend with a season opener against UTEP scheduled for Sept. 12. Even as they get back to the practice field, the Longhorns and the rest of the sports world will undoubtedly continue to grapple with the current issues.
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