Utah Football "Stands Together" in powerful message aimed at ending racism
The state of our nation is at an upheaval regarding the current protests and systemic racism that continues to plague our country.
With the NFL beginning its season this past weekend, protests against systemic racism were out in full effect. Some players chose to take knees during the national anthem while some teams elected to stay in the locker room right up until kickoff.
Regardless of the acts performed, the professional athletes were making their thoughts known.
The Utah football program joined the thousands of athletes at the professional and collegiate levels protesting social injustice when they released a video on Tuesday. The powerful statement and message behind the video was about ending racism and how the team "stands together."
Participating in the video was Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham and 11 current players — including Nick Ford, the senior offensive lineman who's taken a very active role as Utah's leader in the #WeAreUnited movement.
Combined, they all took different times to deliver a special message regarding unity, brotherhood and the culture that makes Utah so special and separates itself from other programs across the nation.
The 1-minute long video begins with Ford walking up the microphone and saying three simple words, "my life matters."
Star wide receiver Britain Covey is up next, saying “my brothers’ lives matter” — followed by freshman defensive back Clark Phillips III by saying “this is not about left versus right.”
The remaining players then stated the message...
“This is about what is right. We can no longer just play the game. Because we are more than the game we play. We have a platform. We have a voice. And it’s important that we use it. Humanity. Kindness. Respect. Equality. All in or in the way. Enough is enough. We stand together.”
The video ends with Whittingham saying, "Utah football stands with our student-athletes.”
Joining Ford, Covey and Phillips in the video are running back T.J. Green, receiver Solomon Enis, quarterback Jake Bentley, running back Devin Brumfield, center Orlando Umana, defensive Mika Tafua and linebacker Devin Lloyd.
Naturally a video of this magnitude was met with some resistance, but Ford was quick to shoot that down by reiterating the team's diversity and how they are all truly "brothers."
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