Coach Jeff Hafley Wants To "Take Action" in Supporting Social Advocacy of his Players and Staff
Every time you turn on the news or load up Twitter you see or read about a new story or opinion regarding the Black Lives Movement and the push for racial equality. And in the world of collegiate sports, this is no different. Only a few weeks ago, Clemson University had a large rally that was attended by most of the football team, Dabo Swinney, and amongst the speakers at the rally was star quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Now that the Boston College football team has returned to campus, the Eagles football team is ready to make their impact on the world, and let their voice be heard. New head coach Jeff Hafley spoke with the media about how seriously he is taking this situation, and to emphasize how supportive he is of his players and staff around their advocacy efforts.
Hafley understands that this is a process that is going to take time, with conversations with his staff, which he has found helpful. He also has a diverse staff, that will hopefully mirror the makeup of the roster with multiple coaches of coaches of color on both sides of the ball. He continues to work to build his relationships with his players as well, many of whom he is just getting to know.
"Number one goal during this time has been to be supportive," he explained. Hafley, his staff and the athletics department has been active on Twitter supporting the athletes, sending out tweets on Juneteenth in support. But for the head coach, it has to be more saying, "tweets are good, but we want to take action."
The program has begun to take those concrete steps to make a difference in the community around them. According to the head coach the players have asked to donate money to a group in the community that addresses these issues. On top of that the program has "been in touch with some members of the Boston Police" according to Hafley, and hopefully will be in touch when it is safe to do so. And in the spirit of "men and women for others" the team is looking to give back by adopting a local community center or high school of under privileged kids so that they can help.
Through their hard work, the staff, players, and the players leadership council have begun to take action. Hafley is all in and on board to foster this work, "we want to support that," he said. Now that the players are on campus, that crucial non football work can really begin, and it looks as if the staff will be there with them every step of the way.
Photo Courtesy of BCEagles.com
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