SE: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Event Another Show of United Commitment by K-State Athletics, Campus to Diversity and Inclusion
Feb 06, 2018 | Athletics
By Corbin McGuire
KSUnite was a start, the foundational beginning to progress. Last November's event, which brought together thousands of people from across campus and the community, was not the end, however. Nor could it be, if real progress were to be made.
The message of unity, along with the importance of diversity and inclusion, has been carried since then in a collective manner.
K-State Athletics, which launched its first-ever Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Plan last fall, hosted a Diversity and Inclusion game on January 16, with many campus groups included. When Martin Luther King III came to speak on campus on January 25, K-State Director of Athletics Gene Taylor, Director of Student-Athlete of Development Arin Dunn and Faculty Athletics Representative Dr. Be Stoney were there and joined in the annual Laying of the Wreaths ceremony by the Martin Luther King Jr. bust near Ahearn Field House.
Again, more united steps in a long race toward creating a stronger culture of diversity and inclusion.
"We all emphasize this word 'family' and that purple is more than just a color to us. If one member of the K-State family is hurting or not feeling welcome and included, then everyone in the family should rally together to let all of our student body, staff and faculty know that we stand with you and that we are not going to stand for anyone trying tear this family apart," said Brandon Clark, advisor to the K-State Black Student Union. "Athletics devoted an entire game to this message. We're going to keep reinforcing this message. We could've just said, 'We've done KSUnite. The event is done. There's nothing else that needs to be done.' But for athletics to say, 'No, we're going to take part in this as well and make our statement on this issue, I think, is amazing."
This partnership between K-State Athletics and campus groups, and their shared investment in promoting an environment that embraces diversity and inclusion, is also the reason NBA Hall of Famer and New York Times best-selling author Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will speak at Bramlage Coliseum on February 6 at 7 p.m. Tickets are free to the event and can be picked up in the ticket office at Bramlage Coliseum.
"We have great partners on campus, and really that's where it started," Taylor said. "The Black Student Union and our leadership on campus, they came to us and said, 'If we could get Kareem, would you be willing to help?' We said absolutely."
Every year during Black History Month, K-State's Black Student Union brings in a notable speaker with a powerful message. Past figures to come to K-State include Angela Davis and Harry Belafonte, two notable social activists. This year, bringing in a famous athlete whose known as much, if not more, for his work outside of sports felt right, said Brandon Clark, advisor to K-State's Black Student Union.
"We were thinking, 'Who is a figure that we could bring in that we think could further continue our efforts with KSUnite, continue to bring us together, continue to rally our entire campus and community to come together?'" Clark said. "We thought a sports figure like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, because a lot of people know who he is, because of what he has done for sports but more recently because of what he has done regarding social justice issues, would make him a good fit to bring into our campus."
The partnered event between the Black Student Union, SGA and K-State Athletics represents another step toward creating a culture of unity and inclusiveness, SGA President Jack Ayres said.
"One of the things we discussed when we were planning KSUnite is that KSUnite is not the finish line, it's the starting line. We need to view KSUnite as a springboard many more things on campus," Ayres said. "Events like this are incredibly important because it really creates a culture of inclusivity on campus."
Abdul-Jabbar's life story is filled with impressive feats that he continued accumulating well after basketball.
A six-time NBA Champion, the 7-foot-2 talent, known for his skyhook shot, played 20 seasons of professional basketball and still stands as the NBA's all-time leading scorer with more than 38,000 points.
Abdul-Jabbar, who converted to Islam in 1968, boycotted the Olympics the same year because of treatment of African-Americans. Throughout the years, he's also regularly contributed to the Washington Post and Time Magazine as a columnist. He's written many New York Times best-selling books, most recently releasing "Becoming Kareem: Growing On and Off the Court," and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama in 2016.
"We hope it will bring everyone together," Clark said. "There will be people of all nationalities and religious there, so we're already coming together and uniting as one, but then we're hoping that his message will be one of unity and letting us know that our differences are a strength. They're not a weakness. They're not something that should divide us. They're something that should bring us together."
"He can connect with student-athletes. He can connect with students of color and then he can also connect with anyone who has had the aspiration of being successful," added Nick Edwards, SGA's liaison to K-State Athletics. "They can kind of see how he's gotten there, all the adversity that he's faced and the steps that he took to be a successful, not only athlete, but person."
Ayres said the event offers everyone in the community a chance to learn and grow, but he emphasized the importance that those who attend come with an open mind.
"We can plan all the events in the world but it's the passion, the buy-in from students that really make them successful and really make them meaningful," he said. "I'd encourage students to not only go to the event but go to the event prepared to really think about what diversity and inclusion means for our campus, what this means for athletics and how we as fans and some of us participants in a collegiate athletics program can help to move that needle."
KSUnite was a start, the foundational beginning to progress. Last November's event, which brought together thousands of people from across campus and the community, was not the end, however. Nor could it be, if real progress were to be made.
The message of unity, along with the importance of diversity and inclusion, has been carried since then in a collective manner.
K-State Athletics, which launched its first-ever Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Plan last fall, hosted a Diversity and Inclusion game on January 16, with many campus groups included. When Martin Luther King III came to speak on campus on January 25, K-State Director of Athletics Gene Taylor, Director of Student-Athlete of Development Arin Dunn and Faculty Athletics Representative Dr. Be Stoney were there and joined in the annual Laying of the Wreaths ceremony by the Martin Luther King Jr. bust near Ahearn Field House.
Again, more united steps in a long race toward creating a stronger culture of diversity and inclusion.
"We all emphasize this word 'family' and that purple is more than just a color to us. If one member of the K-State family is hurting or not feeling welcome and included, then everyone in the family should rally together to let all of our student body, staff and faculty know that we stand with you and that we are not going to stand for anyone trying tear this family apart," said Brandon Clark, advisor to the K-State Black Student Union. "Athletics devoted an entire game to this message. We're going to keep reinforcing this message. We could've just said, 'We've done KSUnite. The event is done. There's nothing else that needs to be done.' But for athletics to say, 'No, we're going to take part in this as well and make our statement on this issue, I think, is amazing."
This partnership between K-State Athletics and campus groups, and their shared investment in promoting an environment that embraces diversity and inclusion, is also the reason NBA Hall of Famer and New York Times best-selling author Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will speak at Bramlage Coliseum on February 6 at 7 p.m. Tickets are free to the event and can be picked up in the ticket office at Bramlage Coliseum.
"We have great partners on campus, and really that's where it started," Taylor said. "The Black Student Union and our leadership on campus, they came to us and said, 'If we could get Kareem, would you be willing to help?' We said absolutely."
Every year during Black History Month, K-State's Black Student Union brings in a notable speaker with a powerful message. Past figures to come to K-State include Angela Davis and Harry Belafonte, two notable social activists. This year, bringing in a famous athlete whose known as much, if not more, for his work outside of sports felt right, said Brandon Clark, advisor to K-State's Black Student Union.
"We were thinking, 'Who is a figure that we could bring in that we think could further continue our efforts with KSUnite, continue to bring us together, continue to rally our entire campus and community to come together?'" Clark said. "We thought a sports figure like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, because a lot of people know who he is, because of what he has done for sports but more recently because of what he has done regarding social justice issues, would make him a good fit to bring into our campus."
The partnered event between the Black Student Union, SGA and K-State Athletics represents another step toward creating a culture of unity and inclusiveness, SGA President Jack Ayres said.
"One of the things we discussed when we were planning KSUnite is that KSUnite is not the finish line, it's the starting line. We need to view KSUnite as a springboard many more things on campus," Ayres said. "Events like this are incredibly important because it really creates a culture of inclusivity on campus."
Abdul-Jabbar's life story is filled with impressive feats that he continued accumulating well after basketball.
A six-time NBA Champion, the 7-foot-2 talent, known for his skyhook shot, played 20 seasons of professional basketball and still stands as the NBA's all-time leading scorer with more than 38,000 points.
Abdul-Jabbar, who converted to Islam in 1968, boycotted the Olympics the same year because of treatment of African-Americans. Throughout the years, he's also regularly contributed to the Washington Post and Time Magazine as a columnist. He's written many New York Times best-selling books, most recently releasing "Becoming Kareem: Growing On and Off the Court," and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama in 2016.
"We hope it will bring everyone together," Clark said. "There will be people of all nationalities and religious there, so we're already coming together and uniting as one, but then we're hoping that his message will be one of unity and letting us know that our differences are a strength. They're not a weakness. They're not something that should divide us. They're something that should bring us together."
"He can connect with student-athletes. He can connect with students of color and then he can also connect with anyone who has had the aspiration of being successful," added Nick Edwards, SGA's liaison to K-State Athletics. "They can kind of see how he's gotten there, all the adversity that he's faced and the steps that he took to be a successful, not only athlete, but person."
Ayres said the event offers everyone in the community a chance to learn and grow, but he emphasized the importance that those who attend come with an open mind.
"We can plan all the events in the world but it's the passion, the buy-in from students that really make them successful and really make them meaningful," he said. "I'd encourage students to not only go to the event but go to the event prepared to really think about what diversity and inclusion means for our campus, what this means for athletics and how we as fans and some of us participants in a collegiate athletics program can help to move that needle."
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