INDIANAPOLIS—Amid the ongoing legislative battles that are being waged across the nation against a wide-range of diversity initiatives, student athletes, coaches and administrators gathered over the weekend to affirm their commitment to inclusion, vowing to push back against the onslaught.
“There are no final victories,” warned Dr. Harry Edwards, professor emeritus of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley and one of the keynote speakers who addressed the more than 600 participants who attended the eleventh-annual NCAA Inclusion Forum.
“This is nothing new,” Edwards said of the recent attacks on voting, LGBTQ, women’s rights and the ongoing attempt by state legislators to eliminate college diversity offices and programming aimed to support students of color.
“I have seen it all before,” said Edwards, adding that he’s encouraged by the wave of activism put forth by collegiate and professional athletes in the wake of these attacks.
Edwards said that activism grounded in athlete protest, has a long and storied history in the United States, dating back to the civil rights movement and continuing through today.
NCAA President Charlie Baker
According to organizers of the forum, that kind of activism is needed now more than ever, given the growing assault on colleges and universities who are being pressured to do away with equity, and inclusion efforts and penalized if they refuse to do so.
