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The Painful Silence of ETSU’s Coaches
In the wake of George Floyd’s death, the Buccaneers’ coaches have not made a statement. Why?
Why haven’t the coaches at East Tennessee State made a statement on the events of recent days that have seen George Floyd die and so many take to the streets in response?
While it’s true ETSU President Brian Noland and athletic director Scott Carter have issued statements condemning racism, head football coach Randy Sanders, men’s basketball coach Jason Shay, and women’s basketball coach Brittney Ezell have not.
Why?
Meanwhile, Tennessee head football coach Jeremy Pruitt, not the most articulate man in the world, appeared and spoke with his players at the “March on Knox” rally on Friday.
Granted, Tennessee’s football players are back on campus. ETSU’s athletes aren’t.
But that doesn’t mean a statement can’t be given, and one has to wonder why one hasn’t.
Is the feeling since Noland and Carter made statements the coaches don’t have to? If so, then the statements both men made almost seem boilerplate and the coaches would appear to be pawns.
Administration expresses sentiment, but the people who work most closely with perhaps the highest concentration African-Americans, the football and basketball coaches, do not?
