STARKVILLE, Miss – Actions more than words.
Less than 24 hours after Mississippi state defensive lineman Nathan Pickering said the social struggle that hit America this summer “definitely is a problem,” the football team boycotted Thursday night’s practice.
Most of the players piled up in Unity Park in downtown Starkville. Unity Park, the same site where the Starkville Justice March began in June. The Bulldogs posed for a photo in front of a wall of plaques commemorating the fame of civil rights activists, President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Medgar Evers and others.
This photo will be reminiscent of the message depicted by MSU football, a message coach Mike Leach shared in a tweet Thursday night.
“I’m proud to be the main football coach of the state of Mississippi,” Leach said in his tweet. “I applaud our players for expressing some of their fears and anxieties today. I look forward to running with them tomorrow, using football to encourage us and the other people around us. I salute the state!”
“Black, brown, blue — whatever, ” said the senior defensive end Kobe Jones before the players dispersed. “We love you all.”
The state of Mississippi joined Kentucky as sec that remained out of the box to reflect on racial equality on Thursday, just as professional athletes in several leagues did this week.
The NBA introduced boycotts when three playoff games were postponed on Wednesday. Several WNBA, MLB and MLS games were then scratched. The NHL announced that no playoff games would be played on Thursday or Friday.
The Bulldogs boycott came four days after a 29-year-old black man, Jacob Blake, shot several times in the back through police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The incident left Blake paralyzed from the waist down. According to one report, Blake’s lawyer said it would be a “miracle” for Blake to be able to walk again.
While they were going to pitch, catch and take on for the first game of the September 26 season at LSU and before collecting in the park, many Mississippi State players took Twitter for their positions.
Their minds were focused on Blake and other victims of social injustice, not football.
“We’re so much more than footballers!” The second defensive lineman, Devon Robinson, tweeted. “It’s a bigger picture. #BlackLivesMatter I stay with my team until the end …”
Supporter Redshirt De’Monte Russell tweeted, “It’s bigger than black and white, it’s a challenge with the total lifestyle.” Freshman defensive back Emmanuel Forbes and junior supporter Jordan Davis tweeted, “THE FUN is not the main purpose of our VOICE” with the hashtag “BlackLivesMatter.”
Junior open receiver Caleb Ducking tweeted, “If you don’t help with something, fall in love with everything.” The second security officer, Shawn Preston Jr., took a much more direct technique to protect why the Bulldogs didn’t practice.
“We will no longer tolerate injustice in this country, the time has come and we can no longer wait for #BlackLivesMatter,” Preston tweeted.
While Preston can no longer tolerate injustice, anyone with a Twitter account with the nickname “Biden-basement” may simply not tolerate MSU’s exit from the box on Thursday.
“Players are all over Twitter about it. I hope they’re dropped and put the leaders on the bench for a game.
The sophomore defensive version of Allen Love replied, “Wow, that’s the explanation for why here” before deleting his tweet. Most tweets from players in the state of Mississippi have not been deleted, but they will stand the test of time.
“I’m my team 100%,” said main receiver JaVonta Payton.