OXFORD, Mississippi (AP) – The wave of police brutality in the country landed again in Mississippi, and the Ole Miss football team decided not to go to the education floor on Friday after a similar protest the day before in the state of Mississippi.
Ole Miss players walked from campus to Oxford Square after boycotting training. The march to protest police brutality following the shooting of Jacob Blake, a guy from Wisconsin who shot seven times in the back through a Kenosha police officer this month. The shooting has rekindled protests and riots across the country.
“As ole Miss football family, we are determined to change,” the players said in a statement through college. “We will have to prevent police brutality and other injustices in our country and our team is united to embrace our diversity and sell a culture of peace, equality and understanding. Whatever our origin, we will all have to pay attention to others and be informed to respect and love our differences.
Friday’s action came after several school football systems across the country skipped Thursday’s practice. The state of Mississippi went to practice at Unity Park in Starkville.
Earlier this summer, the athletic branch of Ole Miss organized a march for on-campus unity. Football coach Lane Kiffin then and Friday, joining his players on the march to the square.
“I’m proud that our players come to a for justice and change,” Kiffin said in a statement through the school. “We will continue to paint in combination to improve the world around us.”
On Thursday in Starkville, about 80 players from the state of Mississippi came together in solidarity to protest racial injustice.
“Black, brown, blue, whatever, whatever,” said the senior defensive end and Starkville’s local Kobe Jones as the players ready to disperse. “We love you all.”
College football joined other boycotts as the NBA saw the groups fall on Wednesday and Thursday, without betting their scheduled playoff games. Major League Baseball also asked the groups to do the same as the National Hockey League. NFL groups opted not to practice this week.