21 minority Big East assistants have announced they’ve formed Coaches For Action, a coalition created to use their platform of athletics to educate and bring awareness to social injustices.
On Monday, June22, four of the coalition member coaches joined Adam Finkelstein for a live roundtable on The Upside to discuss the initiative.
Representatives included:
- Dwayne Killings of Marquette University
- Kyle Neptune from Villanova
- Kimani Young from UCONN
- Ivan Thomas of Providence College
Big East Coaches for Action has at least one representative from each of the Big East Conference’s 11 member institutions, all of whom share in the group’s core mission.
We are Coaches For Action. Join us as we take action in efforts to eliminate the prejudice, discrimination, and oppression that impact our student-athletes, fans, and communities. pic.twitter.com/usWk3AJnI2
— Coaches For Action (@coaches4action) June 22, 2020
The coaches have already met virtually many times, received blessings from their various head coaches and athletic directors, and already identified three main initiatives:
1. Educate players, fellow coaches and people in Big East communities on the importance of voting in both local and national elections. CFA is calling on each Big East program to host a voter registration drive in early October.
2. Create a scholarship fund to assist first-generation minority students with at least a 3.0 GPA who elect to attend a Big East school. Each CFA member has already committed to a monetary donation, and they will lobby their head coaches (and donors with whom they have relationships) to also contribute.
3. Support the Black Lives Matter movement by placing Black Lives Matter patches on each home and away jersey of every men’s basketball player in the Big East. Additionally, Big East coaches will wear Black Lives Matter pins.
Recent guests on The Upside include:
- Phil Armstrong, Tulsa 1921 Race Massacre Centennial Commission
- Jeff Capel and Steve Wojciechoski
- Counzo Martin
- Dr. Scott Brooks
- UCLA Head Coach Mick Cronin
- CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein
- Texas Longhorn coach Shaka Smart
- Chris Herren
- ESPN’s Paul Biancardi
- Penn State coach Pat Chambers
Visit The Upside on YurView.com for more and follow Adam Finkelstein on Twitter: @AdamFinkelstein
