The coach of Alabama and his entire football team marched alongside other athletes in response to the incidents regarding police brutality against black men and women across the United States.
Within the short march across the campus, coaches and staff alike from the campus went from the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility to Foster Auditorium, where Gov. George Wallace, a segregationist in fact, stood in 1963 to block the entry of two black students on campus.
Nick Saban and Alabama players and coaches took part in a march for social justice today (via @Charlie_Potter/TW)
Caption: instagram/@thecheckdown/ pic.twitter.com/IJlfMKlxmb
— ElitesportsMarketing (@esrmarketing) September 2, 2020
Alabama Football Coach Nick Saban Leads Social Justice Marchhttps://t.co/pEvkP7nxxE
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 1, 2020
In wake of the police shooting of Jacob Black, the Crimson Tide athletes of Tuscaloosa, Alabama and other schools such as Oaklahoma, Kansas, Duke, Baylor, Mississippi and Mississippi State have also taken place.
Tailback Najee Harris stated “for certain, we can’t let this momentum die. This has to be an ongoing movement until change happens.” “This is what helped me grow in my role as a leader, to listen to the players, to learn from the players and give them opportunities to do things that could impact social change today,” Saban said. “Today I’m like a proud parent.
Alabama coach Nick Saban led his team on a march against racial injustice on Monday that stopped at a historically significant place on the university's campus. https://t.co/1mCERkxFaL
— WJZ | CBS Baltimore (@wjz) September 2, 2020
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Some signs and shirts from the march read things like “Defend Black Lives.” Other players held signs with messages like “Black Lives Matter” and “Stand for something or fall for anything.” Another sign read “Until Black Lives Matter” on the front and “All lives can’t matter” on the back.
It’s important to note where exactly many of the places the march took place in the town. Not only are these places important in the town as a whole, but very important to the history of the United States and the Civil Rights Movement.
However, not everyone obviously was in support of the message from the march.
I have read that there are people claiming Nick Saban is just doing "this social justice stuff" to get players. GTFO. I hate him from beginning to end of football season, but that man is the greatest college coach in history. He doesn't need to fake a damn thing.
— Josh Moon ???????? (@Josh_Moon) September 1, 2020
Many people online alike have slammed the head football coach. Some thought that this would be a stunt in order to get more black players on the team for the upcoming season. But, some others online had other things to say about the matter.
Reminds me of how confused folks were when they realized Jason Isbell was not part of their plantation culture. Saban is exactly the man he reflects – courageous, principled, compassionate. He’s a Democrat. Always.
— Janet Grant Burns (@jgrantburns) September 1, 2020
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Some criticized the players for overall being able to play football at the university and get a free ride, but dishonor the school by pulling such a stunt.
https://twitter.com/Shawn__Simmons/status/1301213062683389953?s=20
Nick was also seen talking to many of the players while they were marching. Throughout his time as a coach, he has made sure that all of his players are eligible to vote to make their voices heard in the upcoming election.
https://twitter.com/1sgEllis/status/1301145510103920641?s=20
But in the end, many people across the country have still been deeming him the greatest coach of all time.
DAMN STRAIGHT!
Third generation Auburn gal here and Nick Saban IS the greatest coach of our time.
More importantly, he is an ultra high quality human being, then a mentor to those young men, and then a coach for the ages.
— C. A. Smyth MS ³³º¹ ???????????????????? (@BluesRoyals) September 1, 2020
So throughout all of the trolls that came through whether it be in the march or in person, none of them really got through to Nick Saban because he’s going to do what he needs to do for his team and his nation. *mic drop*
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