HomeMy WebLinkAboutStatement from Players FinalStatement from Cal Poly Football Student-Athletes
We want to start off by saying we do not speak for the entire football program but as student-
athletes at Cal Poly we believe it is crucial to express our First Amendment rights, especially our
right to freedom of speech and the right of the people peaceably to assemble. We believe that
these situations of police brutality should be treated as a paramount issue by everyone in our
country. As these protests continue locally, we would like everyone to know that we are
committed to upholding a peaceful protest to express our grievances from the death of George
Floyd and the many others who have been killed, and or have experienced similar unjust
treatment from law enforcement.
We, Cal Poly student-athletes, are all brothers and sisters and we will stand together and stay
committed to being peaceful and respectful throughout each and every protest. We feel that it is
our moral and ethical obligation to advocate for these issues because of the immense effects that
these issues have on minorities but especially on African Americans in collegiate athletics.
We remain engaged in these protests because we want to make sure that attention to these issues
of anti-Black racism, police brutality, mass incarceration, access to a living wage, and access to
higher education do not go away or blow over in a week. We want people to be aware of the all
the injustices people are facing all over the country.
As a result of these injustices, we believe that all police officers should be required to have their
body cameras on at all times during any interactions with the public but especially during these
protests.
We also ask that footage of the protests and footage of any use of forceful action moving
forward should be reviewed by a citizen’s police commission in efforts to be more transparent
and to hold police officers accountable for any misconduct.
We ask that all of Cal Poly’s university police officers undergo anti-bias training from an expert
external to the CSU police.
We ask that all police officers in the SLO community be trained in de-escalation tactics and
techniques.
We also ask that all university police officers be required to have a bachelor’s degree as a
minimum educational requirement for hire.
We ask that Cal Poly work to admit more African American students and fully support
(educationally and financially) low-income, first-generation students.
We ask that Cal Poly commit to making the university as diverse as the people in the state of
California in its administration leadership, in its faculty, in its staff, and among the students.
Signed
Cal Poly Football Student-Athletes