Coaches are addressing racism, police brutality with their teams — and some are working with police to promote change

On Carter’s first day of summer strength and conditioning workouts, a star from arguably the greatest high school football team in Texas history dropped by his alma mater last Thursday.

Le’Shai Maston could have just talked about his unbeaten 1988 team, which was featured in Friday Night Lights and in an ESPN Films 30 for 30 documentary after Carter won a state championship and then was stripped of its title by the UIL. The former Baylor standout could have just discussed the five seasons that he played in the NFL.

But Maston wanted to make a difference. That was why he joined the police force in 1999, motivated by the anger that he felt after the 1992 acquittal of Los Angeles policemen in the beating of Rodney King.

So Maston talked to 60-plus high school football players about the fight against racism and police brutality. As Americans protest the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other black men and women killed by police, Maston provided a black police officer’s view on what needs to change.

“The main question [from players] was why do we keep hiring the same type of officers that are prejudiced, that do not protect and serve us well,” said Maston, a former member of the Dallas Police Department who is now a police officer for Dallas County Community College.

“The hiring of officers, the screening, the criteria has to change in order for it to be better.”

Coaches don’t want their athletes to live in fear of police, and police want to support and listen to the youths in their communities to help generate reform. That’s why the two sides are working together in many parts of the Dallas area.

But Maston realizes there is a long way to go. He offered his advice on how to stay safe, imploring Carter players to always be the bigger man and do everything in their power to prevent a situation from escalating, even if they have done nothing wrong.

“I told them, when it comes to police officers I’m going to tell you what I tell my kids — ‘Make it home.’ If you feel that something is wrong, we don’t want you to fight that fight,” Maston said. “Let your coaches, let your parents fight that fight.

“You can have your phone and record it, but always be respectful. That’s not the time to debate it. If you didn’t do whatever it was, take it to court and have your day in court.”

Back together

Last week, the UIL allowed public schools statewide to begin in-person workouts for all sports in a limited capacity for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began. Teams are together for the first time since mid-March, and Dallas-area football coaches are having powerful talks with their athletes about racial issues and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Many players have taken part in protests, with Carter coach Spencer Gilbert saying that his athletes felt like they were effecting change. Coaches are trying to provide a haven for their athletes and want them to feel comfortable expressing their fears and frustrations after the very public death of Floyd, a black man who died May 25 in the custody of Minneapolis police, with a white officer’s knee on his neck.

“I think everybody should take part in social justice, no matter the makeup of your community,” Lancaster coach Chris Gilbert said. “It could be all black, it could be all white, it could be all Hispanic. We’re here to make it a more perfect union. We all have some responsibility.

“The other day after workouts I had a conversation with them. They are all concerned. I said this may be the event, the moment, that things start to change, get better. This is probably the one event that it genuinely feels like it’s affected enough people to maintain momentum.”

Culture clash

The scheduled start to the football season is just a couple of months away. But teams took time out from strength and conditioning workouts because teenagers want to know why law-abiding citizens are being targeted because of the color of their skin.

“It’s fear,” Maston told the Carter players. “You’ll do anything when you are scared. Officers that are being hired, they aren’t culturally diverse. They don’t know how to empathize and sympathize with people because they have not been introduced to [other cultures]. If you don’t know anything about the other culture, then all you know is what you’ve seen on TV. A lot of times on the news, the only thing that gets reported is the bad stuff.”

Professional sports leagues and high-profile athletes have taken a stand, with the NFL pledging $250 million over 10 years to combat systemic racism. Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, a former Allen star who was last year’s NFL offensive rookie of the year, was asked Wednesday if he thinks the call for action will result in real change.

“I hope so, first of all,” Murray told the Arizona Republic. “My generation, we’re so diverse. ... My parents’ generation grew up in segregated times, and now it’s all coming together. I feel like it’s tough, but I do feel like we’ll see change.

“There is a lot of hate in this world, but at the same time, what’s happening and what we’re seeing right now, it’s huge. ... I don’t condone rioting and stuff like that, but the peaceful protests, I think they’re great. They’re amazing. I think that’s just the start of it. ... Whether it takes years, I feel like we’re getting there. At least we’re making a step toward it.”

Murray said he plans to kneel during the national anthem before games as a sign of protest against social injustice. Elsewhere, a group of University of Texas athletes said last week that they would not take part in recruiting and donor events unless significant changes are made on campus — including the removal of “The Eyes of Texas” as the school song — to make the school more racially inclusive.

High school coaches — of all races and walks of life — are doing their part.

Highland Park’s Randy Allen showed his players a video that was narrated by former Georgia Tech coach Bill Curry and talks about football’s role in breaking down barriers and prejudices. Chris Gilbert, Little Elm’s Kendrick Brown and Southlake Carroll’s Riley Dodge were on a panel that discussed racial tensions. Argyle Liberty Christian’s president, athletic director and college recruiting director led prayer meetings before workouts, and coaches had one-on-one talks with athletes to allow them to share their thoughts on the issues.

“So much of what we are wrestling with are much deeper than a quote, a statement, a tweet, even an article,” Liberty Christian football coach Steven Greek said. “The events of the last few weeks have allowed us opportunities to challenge our student-athletes to love God and love each other. To honor each other. To build each other up. To become a family, regardless of power, prestige, position, race, gender, ability, culture or economic status.”

Midlothian had two local pastors talk to the football team, and both took part in a peaceful protest that head coach Doug Wendel and five players attended. Midlothian changed its theme for the upcoming season to UNITE, Wendel challenged his athletes to take an active role in becoming agents of change at the school, and the team will spend the summer and upcoming season discussing what equality means.

Cedar Hill brought in guest speakers — Cedar Hill Chief of Police Ely Reyes, Mayor Stephen Mason and school district superintendent Gerald Hudson — to discuss how to bring about improvements. Four days before he attended practice, Reyes spoke at a peaceful protest march in Cedar Hill that drew several hundred people, including football coach Carlos Lynn and some of his players.

“I talked to [players] about the current situation with the mistrust of police in our communities and how important it was for police departments to acknowledge that and to work hard to rebuild that trust,” Reyes said. “We try to take every opportunity that we can to get into the schools and start building those positive relationships with the children, because we want to ensure that the first interaction that they have with a police officer is not when they have to call 911.

“The police care about the youth in our community. We want them to be successful, and we want them to be safe. We need to make sure we have open lines of communication and that we’re interacting in a positive manner to make change, because change needs to be made.”

Speaking out

Locally, police officers were found guilty of murder in the deaths of 26-year-old Botham Jean and 15-year-old Jordan Edwards in recent years. Last week, Reyes and Maston found themselves answering questions from athletes about how to interact with police.

“I talked to them about, as they get older and start driving, they’re most likely going to have an interaction with a police officer at some point in their life, and how important it is to comply with directions given by an officer,” Reyes said. “If they ever feel that they are mistreated, file a complaint or let their coach know so that we can look into it. We don’t want our officers mistreating people.”

At Colleyville Heritage, football players Isaac Shabay and Isaac Brito worked with the Colleyville Police Department to organize a peaceful protest Saturday. Amid signs that read “My skin is not a weapon!” and “I can’t breathe,” the football team walked alongside Chief of Police Michael Miller and officers from his department.

“The whole purpose is to unite the community ... just trying to shed light on the injustices and racism that have been going on,” said Shabay, a running back/slot receiver who spoke at the protest. “Everybody [needs to] unite like a football team does. There is no racism in our locker room. We talk to each other, we’ve had those tough conversations, and we understand each other.”

Sunset coach OJ Abanishe and his staff of mainly minorities thought it would be more relatable if they shared their own stories about racism and interactions with the police, instead of bringing in a guest speaker. Abanishe, like many area coaches, said the team has not yet discussed whether players will kneel before games this fall — but the athletes will have support if they do protest.

“We will accept the wishes of the students and their families if they choose to,” Abanishe said. “As a program we will not mute our kids and their constructive freedom of thought, words and expressions.”

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