MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) – Kansas state football players say they will boycott all team activities until the administrators create a policy that allows a student to be expelled for “overtly racist, threatening, or disrespectful acts.”
The move most players announced on social media on Saturday follows a student tweet about George Floyd’s death, which caused outrage on campus.
“We demand that Kansas State University introduce a policy that allows a student to be released for openly demonstrating racist, threatening, or disrespectful acts towards a student or group of students,” the players said in the one of them published letter. “We decided that we couldn’t play, practice, or meet until these requirements were heard and action taken. We love the state of Kansas, but we have to stand together and protect all students who are developing. “
On Thursday, a month after Floyd, a black man, died after a white Minneapolis policeman pressed his knee on the back of his neck for almost eight minutes, student Jaden McNeil tweeted, “Congratulations to George Floyd for spending a full month was drug-free for a long time! “
University officials have said they are considering their options for the action after the tweet. University President Richard Myers said on Friday that “divisive statements do not represent our university’s values.”
McNeil describes himself as the founder of a conservative group called America First Students, which according to Kansas State is currently not registered on campus due to a lack of membership. America First Students had already drawn student anger to McNeil’s earlier statements.
McNeil previously said America First Students is a “mainstream Christian, conservative organization that supports President Donald Trump”.
Footballers’ statement on Saturday came a day after a pair of Kansas basketball players and a handful of football players threatened to boycott if the university did nothing. A number of college athletes across the country have used their influence to push for social justice since Floyd’s death.
Soccer players from the US state of Kansas are currently not participating in exercises or workouts because team activities were suspended in the team earlier this month following a Corona virus outbreak. Summer training is expected to continue on July 13th.
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