Coach K Releases Black Lives Matter Video
Coach Mike Krzyzewski released a video on Duke’s social media accounts on Friday night supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.
Coach K had already released a statement of support through the school and had contacted one of his players, Wendell Moore Jr., praising the rising sophomore’s efforts to organize a march in Charlotte.
In an emotional speech, Krzyzewski said:
“Black lives matter. Say it. Can’t you say it? Black lives matter. We should be saying it every day. This is not political -- this is not a political statement. It’s a human rights statement. It’s a fairness statement.
“Over the last couple months, I’ve had an opportunity to see more, to listen more, to think more and to understand at a deeper level. So have you. So have you. Do we not see the problem, the disease, the plague that has been with our country for four centuries? Do we not see systemic racism and social injustice? Come on. We all see that. It’s manifested in so many ways: criminal justice, the killings that we’ve seen and we haven’t seen, the denial of economic opportunities for our black community, educational opportunity, healthcare. It’s manifested in so many ways and has been there for four centuries. We see that, and what we do when we see it, we talk but we turn the other way. We don’t solve the problem. The problem will not be solved, and no problem will be solved, unless you acknowledge the problem. Acknowledge it. If you acknowledge it, you have the duty to solve it. We as a country have a duty to solve this problem.
“When I was a cadet at West Point—the prayer is still there—the cadet prayer. In the cadet prayer, one of the segments of the prayer says, “Lord, help me choose the harder right. Help me choose the harder right, instead of the easier wrong. We, as a country, have chosen the easier wrong for four centuries. It is time to choose the harder right. It is time to end systemic racism and social injustice. Its time. Black lives matter.”
