FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Members of the Colorado State football team are making their voices heard.
Less than one week after a teammate was threatened and held at gunpoint while working a part-time canvasing job in Loveland, CSU football players, coaches and members of the athletic department marched through Old Town on Wednesday evening as a showing of support for their fellow Ram.
CSU football team members along with coaches, including head coach Steve Addazio and AD Joe Parker March from Old Town to Justice Center and back to Old Town in support of football teammmate who was held at gunpoint. pic.twitter.com/GvtaEidtsO
— Miles Blumhardt (@MilesBlumhardt) June 17, 2020
Although the identities of the victims are not being released due to the sensitivity of the incident and the on-going nature of the investigation, according to the police report which was obtained by the Coloradoan, Scott Gudmundsen allegedly held a gun to the student-athlete’s back and knelt on his neck until the police arrived. At one point, Gudmundsen is even accused of saying that he would not have to kill the young man because law enforcement would do it for him.
Fortunately, nobody was physically harmed any further and the police were able to arrest Gudmundsen at the scene. But even so, the details of the racially-motivated incident are absolutely horrifying and should serve as a wake-up call for everyone in Northern Colorado.
While this region is predominantly very welcoming, until this type of hate is completely eradicated, we as a community have not done enough to raise awareness or help promote inclusivity.
Martin Luther King Jr. famously said that in the end, it’s not the words of their enemies that they will remember but the silence of their friends. Roughly half a century later, Dr. King’s words are still extremely relevant. And that’s why it’s so encouraging to see CSU football using their platform to spark positive change.
During times of injustice, it’s really easy for the privileged to sit back and ignore what doesn’t impact their everyday lives. And honestly, for much of the Fort Collins population, systematic racism is not something that they have to worry about on a day-to-day basis. But unfortunately for many of the student-athletes, and black students in general, that simply is not the case.
While speaking with members of the media in a conference call on Wednesday, June 10, CSU’s Director of Athletics, Joe Parker, said that he wants all student-athletes at CSU to feel comfortable using their right to free speech.
As Parker explained, we need more meaningful change in our society — particularly when it comes to inclusivity and equity. But if that’s ever going to occur, creating dialogue and having difficult discussions is something that we all need to wrap our heads around.
“Our student-athletes are impacted by those events — some on a very personal level — but all of them are,” Parker said.
“There’s been a lot of dialogue amongst our teams and discussions that have been prompted by our coaching staffs. We as a department have decided to be very intentional about creating dialogue, and hopefully meaningful change.”
On Wednesday, Parker and the department showed that they are committing to more than just words. By marching through the streets of Fort Collins, the Rams delivered two powerful messages:
- Hate and ignorance will not be tolerated.
- The Rams will not be silenced — even if it makes some people uncomfortable.
According to Miles Blumhardt of the Coloradoan, about 140 people in total participated in the march. The group started in Old Town before walking to the Justice Center. From there they returned to Old Town Square, where head coach Steve Addazio, Dr. Albert Bimper and wide receiver A’Jon Vivens all gave speeches in the spirit of change.
“Being able to be part of this school is a great privilege, but it is also an option,” Vivens told the crowd.
“Being able to play football, all our sports is a great privilege, but it is also an option. Being Black in America is a great privilege, but it is not an option.”
“This isn’t a one-time deal,” Addazio added. “We’re going to talk, going to communicate, and we’re going to invoke change. That’s going to happen. Together, everybody arm in arm (and) working together, we can do great things.”
Obviously, there is still much work to be done. Rallying together for this march and creating the Together Initiative are a great start. But really it’s how the athletic department carries itself moving forward that will show us how committed to change CSU is.
If CSU truly wants to build on this positive momentum, encouraging student-athletes to vote, encouraging them to publicly serve as activists, and providing educational resources for Rams players is a great way to keep the flame going.
Furthermore, while we should all be disappointed in the horrible event that led to Wednesday’s march in Old Town, the Ram Faithful should be extremely proud of this group for showing strength and standing tall in the face of hate.
Winning games is a lot of fun. But at the end of the day, the message that these young men are delivering, and the work they are doing to raise awareness for systematic issues plaguing our communities is way more important than anything the team will do on the gridiron.
