Kansas State football players have taken a strong, unified stand against racism.
Seemingly every member of the Wildcats’ active roster shared a letter on social media Saturday that states they will not “play, practice or meet” until K-State administrators create a policy that will allow a student to be expelled for displaying “openly racist, threatening or disrespectful actions” toward any of their fellow students.
The letter came a day after several student-athletes at K-State threatened to boycott all team activities unless the university took action against a student that posted an insensitive tweet about George Floyd.
The tweet that sparked a mushroom cloud of outrage read: “Congratulations to George Floyd on being drug free for an entire month!”
Jaden McNeil posted the tweet. He is a junior at K-State who has been in the news previously for founding the white-supremacist group America First Students in Manhattan.
His tweet was met with anger from many with connections to K-State, including student-athletes who decided to use their platforms to condemn him. In a sign of how much power college athletes currently have, their demands have been heard and real change is being considered.
A pair of K-State basketball players and a handful of football players asked for immediate, tangible changes in campus policy on Friday by threatening a boycott.
The K-State football team took things a step further on Saturday. If nothing happens, they say they won’t report when summer workouts resume on July 13 or play when the season is scheduled to begin on Sept. 5.
Here is what their complete letter read:
“To our family at Kansas State: Due to the recent disparaging, insensitive and unsettling comments made by a fellow student, we as a football team, after consultation with students from campus organizations as well as students from the general student body, feel it is best for us to stand with the students.”
“We are demanding that Kansas State University put a policy in place that allows a student to be dismissed for displaying openly racist, threatening or disrespectful actions toward a student or groups of students. We have resolved that we cannot play, practice or meet until these demands are heard and actions taken. We love Kansas State, but we must stand together and protect all students moving forward.”
It is unclear what measures Kansas State leaders can take to punish students who make racist remarks in the future, as that may infringe on a students’ first-amendment rights. But the Wildcats have made it clear that they want the university to explore some options.
K-State football players are currently not allowed to participate in any practices or workouts, as the athletic department suspended all team activities following a coronavirus outbreak within the team last week.
Players of all sorts of different backgrounds and skin colors shared the same letter of demands on Saturday.
Black receiver Joshua Youngblood and white quarterback Skylar Thompson both posted the message and demanded change, right along with everyone else they call teammates.
