In the last few years the fans at Kinnick Stadium have started a new tradition of turning and waving to the Children's Hospital that overlooks the stadium after the 1st quarter of all home games. The tradition has been a beautiful celebration of those kids who have been fighting like most of us couldn't understand. Unbeknownst to us, there was another group in the stadium every week that was also fighting something that most of us don't understand and until recently we didn't know about. That fight is for cultural unity inside the Iowa football program. According to many former players of the Iowa program, guys who graduated and players who transferred out, the staff at Iowa has been biased towards black players and has caused them great anxiety in there time as members of the football program. Not every black player has a bad experience but enough have that there seems to be a trend. Since these revelations surfaced on Friday night, and many more posts over the weekend Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz has suspended Strength Coach Chris Doyle with pay, while there is an independent investigation. There have been swift changes made, as the players returned to football complex this morning it was an entire new world for them. #1 the coach they spend the most time with wasn't there, instead of Chris Doyle they have intern head strength coach Raimond Braithwaite, who has been a member of Doyle's staff since 2008. The second is Ferentz has lifted his ban of the players of posting on Twitter. The players also met today and it sounds like the team is unified in their direction of creating change, while also asking us the fans to also help create the change.
The racial disparities (the words former player and current Chicago Bear James Daniels used) inside the program for the most part have gone unnoticed by the general public. We as fans see the transfers, but usually it's a guy who got passed on the depth chart, or is far away from home so we chalk it up those reasons, not that guys were being asked to act differently than how they were raised. Iowa has had a large number of black players transfer out of the program, and those players have usually not spoken up about the problems on the inside, there was one player Derrick Mitchell, who transferred after 2016 and has since passed away after being hit by a car. Mitchell was on twitter during 2018 and was critical of the program, he was met with cries of sour grapes and that he wasn't good enough. Well he was right at the time and he spoke his truth but nobody wanted to hear it, now these players who left on good terms are speaking up and sadly Mitchell can't have his say. I'm not going to sit here and act like I believed him, but I think we all should realize he gave us the signs and we didn't follow them. Again it sounded like sour grapes, I still find myself doing that today when I read what guys who transferred have to say. We need to make sure we give those allegations as much credence as any.
I'm not sure what the end result of all of this unrest will amount to. I think at the very least Chris Doyle will be fired. I think Offensive Coordinator Brian Ferentz and Linebackers Coach Seth Wallace will both face some form of discipline. Head Coach Kirk Ferentz seems to have the benefit of the doubt and even the players speaking up have said he should get a chance to fix the problems and not be fired. I don't think Ferentz should be fired, but I'm also not the one being discriminated against. The stories these players share are heartbreaking, and they deserve better, but I think Ferentz should get his shot to right the ship. The changes that have already started seem to speak on KF's willingness to change.
Allowing the current players to post on Twitter is a huge step in the right direction, the players in the past were allowed to keep their accounts but couldn't post. They could post on Instagram, Facebook, or other social media platforms, but posting on Twitter was prohibited. The prohibition was lifted on Saturday and the players have used the platform to ask for change. This afternoon, there was a lot of activity from the current players, I'm assuming after they all met, they each wrote an individual statement and posted about unity and moving for change. Safety Kaevon Merriweather made a statement saying if you can't support the change we're asking for, please find another team. I loved his tweet and you should find it. I think he's saying come the fall we're going to kneel for the national anthem and if you got a problem with that, go ahead and find another team. I know it probably doesn't mean much, but I support these young men and I'll back them up however I can, as a white guy chasing 40 who's been to 1 game ever, I doubt I can do much, but damn it I'll try.
These kids deserve our support, and we should respect their courage. The pressure of performing on Saturday's has to be enormous, and sure a few of them are going to play at the next level, but for most this is their peak. Plus they have to balance life away from home, while going to school, and giving all their energy to football, for a hope and a dream. I hope we can get to football on Saturday's and these players can play with nothing on their mind, except for the players on the opposing sideline and of course turning and waving to their heroes up in those hospital rooms, and not fighting for respect from their coaches. Hopefully a new wave of respect will come through the program.
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