Rutgers men’s basketball coach wants program to be at forefront of change amid protests

Many athletes, teams and organizations are taking to social media to voice the need for change as protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis continue across the country.

News 12 Staff

Jun 2, 2020, 11:33 AM

Updated 1,585 days ago

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Many athletes, teams and organizations are taking to social media to voice the need for change as protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis continue across the country.
Whether it's the NFL, NHL, or athletes past and present, the sports world is uniting to make sure what happened to Floyd doesn't happen again.
"What happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis is unacceptable and wrong,” says Rutgers Men’s Basketball Coach Steve Pikiell. “My heart really goes out to his family and all the families that have been affected by similar events."
Joining in with other teams from around the state and across the country, Pikiell says he wants his program to be at the forefront of change.
"And starting to not only attack the season we have in front of us and the coronavirus, but social injustice too and try to make this a better place and make this a country of change," says Pikiell.
He says he's heard from his players about what they can do together to fight social injustice.
"Our players have talked a lot about different things we can do, voting being a part of that, fundraising, using our visibility as a program,” says Pikiell. “So, we're coming together with a game plan."
Pikiell says he's proud of how his players are using their social platforms to inspire change and he looks forward to when they can get back together later this month.
"I believe in our program and I want to be a program that doesn't just talk it, that we walk it," says Pikiell.
Pikiell says the team has great resources to utilize as it starts to take action, such as the Paul Robeson Cultural Center on campus and the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice in Newark.
He says team voluntary workouts on campus will likely start June 22.