Jamaal Charles, Brian Orakpo Among Texas Alums Supporting Athletes' Calls for Social Change

Several distinguished former Texas athletes have taken to social media to support the current Longhorn players' calls for social change.

Several distinguished former Texas athletes have taken to social media to support the current Longhorn players' calls for social change.

Conversations have continued among fans, coaches, students and especially players, calling for changes following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minnesota police officers. 

Floyd died after repeatedly telling the officer, Derek Chauvin, that he couldn’t breathe. Chauvin has since been fired and charged with second-degree murder, and the three other police officers involved have been fired and charged with aiding and abetting murder.

Since then players have come out with a list of suggested changes to improve the overall culture on campus for both black athletes and students. 

Now former Texas athletes are making their voices heard as well. This week we've see the likes of Brian Arakpo, Fozzy Whittaker, Quandre Diggs and Jamal Charles.

The post reads:

The University of Texas athlete alumni are in absolute opposition to racism in any form and are engaged in the meaningful collaboration to enact change. We are united in our support for our current student athletes. 

Here is a list of the suggested changes the group would like to see.

Campus Actions

• The renaming of buildings: Robert Lee Moore Hall, Painter Hall, Littlefield Hall (to include the patio cafe and fountain, James Hogg Auditorium (to include the permanent removal of the James Hogg statue
• The replacement of statues with more diverse statues on campus designed by artists/sculptors who are people of color
• The inclusion of modules for incoming freshmen discussing the history of racism on campus (ex. Texas Cowboys) and providing racial injustice awareness
• An outreach Program for inner cities (Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio)

Athletics Actions

• More diversity in The Hall of Fame to include: permanent black athletic history exhibit
• The UT Athletics Department to donate 0.5% of their annual earnings to black organizations and the BLM movement
• The renaming of an area of the stadium after Julius Whittier, the first black football player at UT

Changes regarding the entire black community at UT

• The replacement of The Eyes of Texas with a new song without racist undertones (lifting the requirement of athletes to sing the song)