Kansas State football players end boycott as school takes steps to combat racism
An emotional period that began with an insensitive tweet from a Kansas State student about George Floyd and escalated into football players boycotting all team activities until the university took a stand against racism has ended with a peaceful resolution.
On Thursday night, almost exactly one week after a racially-charged post on social media sent shockwaves across campus, members of the Wildcats football team announced that they are pleased with the way K-State leaders have reacted and that they will be present for voluntary workouts when they are scheduled to resume on July 13.
K-State players did so by sharing a letter on social media in much the same way they demanded change last weekend.
“We appreciate the diligent work of our university and athletics administration as we work through these important issues,” the letter read. “The plans and action items released Wednesday are great first steps in our goal of defeating hate and racism on our campus, and therefore, we have decided to return to workouts with our teammates.
“However, we know that this process is far from completed, and should it slow or diminish for any reason we would re-evaluate the situation and our options at that time.”
The player boycott lasted nearly a week, but no one actually missed any football activities because the Wildcats paused all summer workouts following a coronavirus outbreak within the team late last month.
K-State administrators on both the academic and athletic side of the school have worked diligently to support their football players and to prove that they hope to combat racism on campus by promoting an atmosphere that is more diverse and accepting of minorities.
Some called for the student who posted the insensitive tweet, Jaden McNeil, to be expelled following the backlash his insensitive tweet created. That tweet read: “Congratulations to George Floyd on being drug free for an entire month!”
University president Richard Myers, K-State coaches and athletes condemned the social media post, but Myers eventually said he would not expel McNeil, as that would violate his first amendment rights and the law.
Instead, Myers issued a statement on Wednesday that included a list of action steps the university would take instead, including improving the process for receiving complaints of discrimination, developing a policy on social media usage for students, training for staff, and scholarships for minority students.
The K-State athletic department also announced on Wednesday that it would create a more diverse atmosphere and help its athletes combat racism.
That means the Wildcats will institute some new policies, including:
- The launching of a diversity and inclusion fund, which will allow K-Staters to directly support diversity initiatives.
- Mandatory diversity and inclusion training for student athletes, coaches and staff.
- Promote the Black Lives Matter movement at all home games.
- Help all student athletes vote on Nov. 3 by providing transportation to and from voting locations and limiting team activities on that day.
- Julian Jones, who is the assistant athletic director for student-athlete development, will also take on the role of chief diversity officer for the athletics department.
“We will not stand for social injustice,” K-State athletic director Gene Taylor said in a statement. “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 areas of racial injustice and racism. I am so proud of our student-athletes, coaches and staff for working together on these steps and know that our department and University will continue to evolve and grow tremendously.”
Some K-State athletes originally responded to McNeil’s tweet by saying they would no longer play for the Wildcats unless he was expelled. That language was later changed to severe consequences for McNeil. Ultimately, though the football team crafted a statement that asked for the school to create a new policy against racism rather than focus on one student.
As K-State leaders began announcing the steps they planned to create against racism, many wondered if those steps would be enough to satisfy the Wildcats football team.
It appears as though the players are happy with the direction things are going on campus.
“Proud of the guys,” K-State football coach Chris Klieman tweeted Thursday night. “We will continue to grow and work to end racism across our great campus.”
This story was originally published July 2, 2020 at 7:47 PM with the headline "Kansas State football players end boycott as school takes steps to combat racism."