411 on the Forty — Part Four: Longhorns speak out
By Riley Zayas
Part 1: Baseball pitcher enters transfer portal
Part 2: women’s tennis recruiting class ranked first
Part 3: Get to know Celeste Taylor
Part 4: Longhorns speak out
Athletes, coaches speak out on racial injustice
Over the course of this past week, Texas athletes, coaches and Athletic Director Chris Del Conte spoke out on their views on social media about the racial injustice and tension being experienced across the country. Here are a few of the responses highlighted by Del Conte in his weekly "Forty Acres Insider."
Sam Ehlingher, Football
I Stand With You🤞🏾🤞🏻 #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/LgnIirU0Y7
— Sam Ehlinger (@sehlinger3) May 31, 2020
Asija O'Neal, Volleyball
#BlackLivesMatter #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd pic.twitter.com/M9v4sxiIPJ
— Asjia O’Neal (@asjiaoneal) June 1, 2020
Kameron Fields, Baseball
“ Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has “ ~ Margaret Mead pic.twitter.com/VCWHIvvE71
— Kamron Fields ❽ (@KamFields_) June 1, 2020
Logan Eggleston, Volleyball
#BlackLivesMatter #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd pic.twitter.com/tMXqSXP2Rt
— logan eggleston (@loganeggleston_) June 1, 2020
Chris Del Conte, Athletic Director
“We can make this a defining moment in our country and we are encouraged by the way our student-athletes, coaches and staff are speaking up and actively advocating for change.” - @_delconte#HookEm
— Texas Longhorns (@TexasLonghorns) June 4, 2020
In addition, wide receiver Brennan Eagles announced late Wednesday evening that there is a strong possibility he will not be on the football field anytime soon as a form of protest. At the time of writing, he was the only Longhorn to have taken that stance publicly.
In a message to his fellow teammates, Eagles summed up his views in one key sentence that both called for support, and called for change.
“Athletics brings people together all over," Eagles wrote,"but at the end of the day I’m not going to play another snap knowing what’s going on in our society due to color and the system being broken… i just can’t.”
✊🏾🖤 pic.twitter.com/7L81OJmiS6
— 🦅 (@_BrennanEagles_) June 4, 2020
This is a huge statement for Texas' leading returning wide receiver. In 2019, he totaled 32 receptions for 522 yards.
Not having Eagles would be devastating to the Texas football team, but he feels he is living for a purpose that goes beyond the gridiron.
"..let's look at the bigger picture," he told athletes, fans and coaches.
Head coach Tom Herman made it known after the team's three hour Zoom meeting Monday that he will support his players' comments on social media when it comes to this widespread issue.
"We didn't really even touch on it," said Herman, "other than, I got your back."
