‘Isn’t just a moment’: Georgia athletics, SEC build upon summer activism

Published 12:41 pm Thursday, January 21, 2021

Georgia’s student-athletes have used their platform to speak out against racial and social injustice since summer 2020. As they begin the new year, many Bulldogs maintain a dual focus: competing in their respective sports and transforming their words into action.

A conference-wide change

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Georgia equestrian head coach Meghan Boenig and senior deputy athletic director Darrice Griffin were named to the SEC Council on Racial Equity and Social Justice along with football’s Kearis Jackson, women’s basketball’s Mikayla Coombs, women’s tennis’ Meg Kowalski and cross country’s Nicholas Yanek. The council has over 60 student leaders across all 14 SEC institutions.

Griffin, who was promoted to her current position on Jan. 1, said conversations began after this past summer’s social and civil unrest sparked by the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, among other Black Americans. Griffin said those conversations led to the council’s creation.

“We started having conversations across the membership at all levels of the membership,” Griffin said. “Administrative, coaches and student-athletes [spoke] regarding what we could do, as a collective body, given the great institutions and the great people who represent our conference.”

Student-athletes on the council meet virtually with members from other schools to discuss ideas on how to improve diversity. Kowalski said members have a Google Doc to share initiatives started at each school and spark action across the conference.

“I feel a lot more confident, and hearing all these incredible student-athletes that are also on the council has instilled confidence in me,” Kowalski said. “It made me feel really special to be a part of such a cool thing.”

Boenig said the council is pushing for voter registration, the hiring of coaches from underrepresented backgrounds and education on historic dates.

The University of Georgia Athletic Association hired Kevin Carr to create initiatives that evaluate diversity, equity and inclusion within the UGAAA. Carr is the founder and CEO of Pro2CEO, which consults on business development and career transitions for current and former athletes.

Carr initiated a program called the “Diversity Inclusion Innovation Program” with the goal of educating coaches, staff and student-athletes on inclusive language and cultural understanding.

“Kevin Carr was the biggest hire that we’ve had, and we’ve brought him into every team,” Kowalski said. “He’s been speaking with all the leadership groups, which has definitely helped facilitate conversation and implement those changes in regards to how we behave and use our platform efficiently.”

Sharing perspectives

Joining student-athletes on the council are coaches from different sports across the SEC. As the lone Georgia coach on the council, Boenig speaks with coaches throughout the UGAAA to discuss their differing experiences.

“From equestrian sports, there are honestly very few minorities, and here I am talking to coaches where it is the exact opposite,” Boenig said. “We’re learning about their personal experiences, and so many of those times we are learning so much from what each other’s successes and challenges are.”

Student-athletes work with coaches and administrators to create new ideas from each of their different perspectives. Kowalski said the council built upon the SEC’s “TOGETHER” theme, which the conference introduced in 2017 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Black athletes competing on varsity SEC athletic teams. She said the council helped create the SEC’s “Together, It Just Means More” commercial and provide warm-up shirts for athletes featuring the phrase “End racism.”

The commercial, which debuted in September 2020, shows different moments and highlights from across the conference while emphasizing unity throughout the week.

Yanek said the council is considering multiple ways to educate student-athletes and further help minority students in the SEC.

“We’ve been looking at making a separate scholarship that’s given out SEC wide for minority students specifically,” Yanek said. “And even down to when we travel, making a list of the different cities that all the SEC schools are in and places that you can go while you’re traveling to see historic monuments.”

Goals remain ahead at Georgia, specifically in the hiring of minority candidates for head coaching positions. There have been six minority head coaches in Georgia’s history, and two are currently on staff: Joni Taylor, head women’s basketball coach since 2015 and Manuel Diaz, head men’s tennis coach since the 1988-89 season.

Griffin said the council now needs to sustain the conversation around diversity to make change.

“We spend a lot of time talking about discussion spaces and who needs to be included in those spaces,” Griffin said. “What they need to look like and how do we sustain them to ensure that this isn’t just a moment, but it is truly a movement that impacts lasting change.”

Printed with permission from the Red & Black independent student media organization based in Athens, Georgia; redandblack.com/sports