Oklahoma football players emerged from the locker room on Friday as they do everyday during preseason training camp.
As the Sooner players filed out onto the practice field, though, it became readily apparent they had intentions other than practice on this day.
The players were dressed in all black and walked in silence across the practice field, out the gate of the football facility and marched, with arms locked together, to Unity Garden at the South Oval on the campus.
Head coach Lincoln Riley was at the head of the procession, arms locked between junior offensive lineman Creed Humphrey and senior defensive back Chanse Silvie.
Once at the Unity Garden, the players stood silently in the background while Riley offered a few brief remarks:
“We made this march today of solidarity, not because we have the answer to all that is going on in our country right now, but we are a group of people who are hurt, that are scared, frustrated, but motivated to do our part,” the Sooner head coach said.
In concluding his brief remarks, Riley pointed out that today was the 57th anniversary of the historical March on Washington, where Martin Luther King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
While assembled at Unity Garden, the Oklahoma players observed a moment of silence lasting 57 seconds.
Sooner players march to show solidarity over racial injustice.
The Sooner demonstration comes after another round of national protests was triggered by the killing earlier this week of an African-American man, Jacob Blake, by police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Riley later spoke with reporters about the conversations the team has had about all the social justice issues and the protests being conducted around the country.
"“Those conversations have been tough. They’ve been eye-opening,” Riley said. “They’ve been very emotional, very tense.“They’ve given every person there not only an opportunity to express themselves, but also, maybe more importantly, an opportunity to listen to what other people have gone through, their experiences.“We always push on our players to try to do more and more and more, and that doesn’t just apply to the football field and doesn’t just apply to the classroom.”"
We had a great discussion yesterday with the players, Riley said. The players wanted to do something together as a team, players and staff, to express the group’s thoughts and emotions and togetherness on the issues around racial injustice. The decision was made Thursday night and early Friday morning exactly what form that would take.