Mack Brown on Racism and Protests, 'We're very Transparent with Our Team'

The last couple of weeks have been emotionally and mentally taxing. On May 25th, Floyd died at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Chauvin was filmed with his knee on Floyd's neck for nearly 9 minutes. Floyd can be heard crying for help and stating that he couldn't breathe. Soon his body becomes visibly limp and unresponsive. His death sparked a civil rights movement calling for racial equality and ending of police brutality.

Football head coach Mack Brown released a statement calling for change while learning, respecting and trust,

"The recent tragedies in Georgia and Minnesota are unacceptable. The violence has to stop. We talk about communication, trust and respect. There’s not much of that right now and it continues to tear us apart. Listen, learn, empathize. Let’s come together and change for the better."

But it was his student-athletes that faced criticism and taunting from fans and it resulted in an eye-opening experience of how some fans view black athletes. Dyami Brown posted a heartbreaking tweet that made everyone realize just how far we have to go,

No athlete should feel this way, and Coach Brown recognized the need for a heavy conversation.

In a recent interview with Jim Rome, Brown discussed in-depth conversations he's had with his team, never shying away from racism. Brown also Brough in UNC Police Chief David Perry to answer any questions players needed answers to.

"We're so lucky. We're very transparent with our team. There are no elephants in the room. So we talk about race all the time. We've talked about racial injustice. The premise of our program is to be fair, be consistent, and do what you know is the right thing to do, and really that's what America needs to do. That's what our world has to do.

What we've done is is we have a black police chief named David Perry, who played football at Albany State. He was a quarterback, and he is a superstar. We've had him on with our parents and players at least twice, maybe three times to talk about police forces across the country, to talk about the injustice that's happening and protests, and talking about protests in Chapel Hill, or Durham, or Raleigh and how our players could be involved peacefully, how he feels like that our players should be included. And really, I've asked him to address how the white guys on the team should feel. What should they say? How can they help, and what can they do? And that's been very productive."

It's not only admirable that Brown provided the resources but also engaged the question of how white players can be an ally - its important to be a team on and off the field.

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