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Nick Saban, Alabama Football Players March on Campus for Social Justice
August 31, 2020
Alabama head coach Nick Saban and members of the Crimson Tide football team staged a social justice march on campus and through Tuscaloosa on Monday.
Running back Najee Harris announced last Friday he and other members of the program would begin the event at 4 p.m. ET outside the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility.
"Today, I'm like a proud parent," Saban said at the march, per AL.com's Mike Rodak. "I'm proud of our team. I'm proud of our messengers and I'm proud of our message."
Harris also took to the podium:
"Every time I walk out of the doors of my home and get the chance to come home, I have to thank God," linebacker Jarez Parks said, per Rodak. "We don't want revenge, we want fairness and equality."
The killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor sparked nationwide protests in May as Americans called for meaningful changes to address police brutality and systemic racism.
The shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Aug. 23 led many to renew calls for social justice. Officials from the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation said police were called to an alleged domestic disturbance and attempted to arrest Blake. As Blake opened the driver's side door of his vehicle, an officer shot him seven times in the back at close range. A lawyer for the Blake family said Blake was attempting to break up a fight between two women when police arrived.
Multiple leagues postponed games last week after athletes refused to play in protest in the wake of the shooting.
