The vicious, vindictive, merciless and racist directives coming from the White House know no bounds, and two of the groups most affected by these heartless Executive Orders are Black people and education, and oftentimes they’re impacted simultaneously through anti-DEI measures.
T**** has made no secret of his disdain for those of a darker shade so he’s on a mission to eliminate laws, policies, organizations and any other entity that benefits Black people. One of the ways he’s hurting Black America is by gutting the education system that has helped so many Black people pursue and receive a valuable education.
Aside from trying to shutter the Department of Education, which would require Congressional approval, the president has issued a mandate that all DEI initiatives, offices, jobs and programs at publically funded institutions must end.
In red states such as Florida, Texas and Arkansas, DEI offices and vendors have been eliminated thanks to the faux outrage fueling the ridiculous anti-woke movement.
By threatening Higher Ed institutions with the removal of federal funds, the White House has forced many other schools to acquiesce to the demand to end DEI.
One of the latest to fall in line is Ohio State University.
University President Ted Carter Jr. announced late last week that it was closing its DEI office to comply with the foolish executive order.
The order, entitled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” calls for the “termination of all discriminatory programs, including illegal DEI and ‘diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear.”
So, as of February 28th, Ohio St. “sunset” its Office of Diversity and Inclusion and Center for Belonging and Social Change as well as some of the services that were offered.
They did keep some scholarship programs but modified the eligibility criteria to “comply with the law.”
“I continue to believe that the best course for our university is to take actions proactively so that we can manage this new landscape in ways that best uphold the values of excellence, access and opportunity that we hold dear,” said President Carter.
In response, a protest featuring students, teachers, politicians, the NAACP and other organizations was held earlier this week on campus to speak out against Ohio State’s decision and SB1, which “bans diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in higher education” across the state.
But while the academic side of the school is embroiled in a war of culture, rights and humanity, the athletic side has, unfortunately and frustratingly, remained silent.
So while their fellow students and academic advisors are fighting for the future, student-athletes and coaches say nothing, and that’s a shame for if they were to join the fight, change could be made.
But that’s the hypocrisy of college and college sports right now, which MAGA has exploited with great success.
There’s always existed a divide between students and student-athletes, one of those separating qualities being protests. The former embraces the tactic while the latter generally avoids it.
There have been occasions when college athletes/athletics have taken a stand, such as the 2015 Missouri football team, the 1992 UNC football team, the Bluefield College Men’s basketball team and the Eastern Tennessee State men’s basketball team, the latter two arising after the murder of George Floyd.
But after Joe Biden won the presidency, the kneeing and the protests faded out as normalcy returned to most of the country outside of the red states, where republican leaders sought retribution and revived the culture wars through the anti-Woke movement.
Now is the time for these protests to be resurrected, yet it cannot come solely from the academic side like we witnessed at Ohio State.
Instead, it must be a collaborative effort from students and student-athletes, for while the former has the greater population number, the latter has the power to affect college finances.
When the Missouri football team threatened to boycott a home game ten years ago, the university, realizing that it would cost them around $1 million in lost revenue, quickly took steps to address the demands of the protestors.
At a big FBS school like Ohio State, where the football team just won a national championship, boycotting one game could be three to four times that amount.
At the University of Florida, cutting the DEI department saved the school a reported $5 million due to the elimination of jobs and other expenditures.
Now imagine if Gators football players sat out a game to protest the anti-DEI policies. The loss of revenue from ticket sales, concessions and parking alone would run close to the same $5 million if not more.
That’s the power student-athletes, especially FBS football players, have at their disposal if they choose to use it for the greater good.
Ohio State athletics generated $251 million in the 2022-23 school year, one of the largest in the nation. The coaches spend millions on recruiting, NIL, training facilities and other items to maintain winning programs, yet there’s no real outrage expressed because the Buckeyes win.
But when it comes to recruiting talented diverse students, especially Black students, there’s an issue because now DEI is weaponized as a divisive practice that discriminates against straight white people, men in particular.
Yet we don’t see the same outrage when there are more Black players on the Buckeyes football team than there are white players, which is due to recruiting.
So if that’s the case, what’s the difference between recruiting talented players for the field and talented students for the classroom?
The real answer is there is no difference because they’re all qualified.
But harsh politics makes it an issue as it can rally a base and win an election.
In Ohio State’s case, by succumbing to the anti-DEI mandate, they are sending the message that Black talent isn’t needed except on the football field or basketball court.
And that’s why, at this moment, Black athletes in particular need to join students on the field in protest against the anti-DEI movement that is ruining colleges across the country.
