Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa players speak about racial inequality within the football program. Now, it's our time to listen and help create change.

Episode Date: June 8, 2020

Iowa football players have taken a stand for what is right and wrong within the program. We discuss that and what is happening in the world. If there is one takeaway from this episode it's that the Black Lives Matter movement is important and it's time to listen, learn, and enact change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I thank God I was born on the good arms of the Midwest, and not on the battlefields of the U.S. It's a time of panic, and it's intercepted! It's picked off right away! Intercepted by Marty Hooker! Pick six! Eight seconds into the game! Buffen sets up deep in the pocket, goes down the field for Smith!

Oh! He's got it! Smith! Touchdown. 85 yards. High on. Touchdown, 10. Taking a shot in the end zone.

It is caught. No offense. Touchdown. That's either one or you have it. Go ahead and three. Yes. Two-point lead for the Hawkeye Nation, to another episode of the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast, your daily podcast covering your Iowa Hawkeyes on the Locked On Sports Network.

It is Monday morning, and as always, I am your host, Andrew Wade, and today's episode is brought to you by Built Bar. Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code LOCKEDON and you'll get $10 off your first order. On today's show, it's going to be a little bit different and one of the more important, if not the most important show we've done out of the, I'll say the most important show out of the 200 or so episodes that we've done on the the, I'll say the most important show out of the 200 or so episodes that we've done on the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast.

Over the past week, we've seen a lot of Iowa Hawkeyes football players be strong and courageous and speak out against the Iowa program and a few individuals in particular. program and a few individuals in particular. We've seen responses by Kirk Ferentz, Gary Barta, and Chris Doyle. We've seen some changes already in how the program is going to move forward. So lots of stuff has happened over the last week in regards to, uh, specifically the black lives matter movement and how it has impacted, um, the Iowa Hawkeyes. So, um, we're going to be basically just talking about that on today's show. Um, if that makes you uncomfortable, uh, I think that's probably good. You probably need to be listening to this.

If that makes you uncomfortable, I find that, um, putting ourselves in uncomfortable situations allows you to grow. And so I hope that if you are listening to this, please don't turn it off. Please stay on and try to listen to the end. And if you want to have a conversation about it, I'm happy to do that as well. Any hate or just inappropriate comments, obviously I'm not going to be replying to,

but feel free to tweet at me at LockedOnIowa or Wade underscore Andrew. That is my personal Twitter if you want to talk about any of this at all. So on today's show, though, I'm going to first, I'm going to kind of break it up into three segments, kind of like we do with all shows, but it's going to be a little bit different. So first segment is going to be a bit about what happened. So what were some of the messages that came out?

Segment number two is going to be what has happened since and, you know, kind of the statements, the movements, that kind of thing. And segment number three is going to be my thoughts. So I hope you're all good with this. Obviously, again, a bit different of an episode on today's show, but we're going to, I think it's an important one to get out there. Before we jump into that content, though, before we jump into the main reason why we're all here today on the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast, do make sure to like, review, and subscribe

wherever you downloaded this podcast at, and make sure to give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. So that being said, let's hop into it. So I would say, you know, kind of got kickstarted by James Daniels, former Iowa center, current, you know, current Chicago bear, a guy who played, played at Iowa for three seasons and also his brother played at Iowa as well. And he kind of kicked things off. I believe he's the one who really kicked things off by calling out the program. And why that's important is it kind of sparked a lot of people calling out the program for racial issues, for inappropriate behaviors, that kind of thing.

And I think it really created a lot of conversation among Iowa players, among Iowa fans, among the program itself. So I'm going to try to find, let me see exactly where he said this at. All right, here is the tweet that kind of started it all. He said, if the team collectively decides to kneel, this will bring about a cultural change for both Iowa football and the state of Iowa, which I believe is long overdue. This is in response to Kirk Barron saying that he wants his team to take a uniform position this fall where either they all stand at attention or they all kneel.

This is previously after Kirk wanted his team to stand. So this kind of kickstarted a lot of players coming out and saying that they've either experienced racism or racial profiling or targeting within the Iowa football program or within the city of Iowa in general. Aaron Mend, a former linebacker, said Meade, Jaleel Johnson, and three other black student-athletes were held at gunpoint by Iowa City Police for leaving a known drug house, the house I happened to be living at for the whole school year. Never thought to mention it. We figured we would be the ones in trouble.

He said they ripped the door handles off the car and for mention that we figured we would be the ones in trouble. He said, they ripped the door handles off the car and forcibly pulled us all out of the vehicle. They searched the vehicle, found nothing. When we asked about the damage to the car, the officers let us go and told us good luck trying to get this paid for. Um,

Jalil Johnson, like I said, has also spoke up on this. Um, faith. I always threw this name up. Faith Ikikadi, um, former defensive tackle,

said, Coach Ferentz is one of the reasons I committed to Iowa as a high school senior. He cares and he gets it. However, for this program in particular, real change begins with Coach Doyle and his strength and conditioning staff. And that's really where it took off from there. Highly recommend if you haven't had an opportunity to, make sure to follow Rob Howe, Recommend if you haven't had an opportunity to make sure to follow Rob Howe, Rob H-O, sorry, Rob Howe, Rob H-O-W-E-H-N on Twitter. So at Rob Howe H-N on Twitter. He's been doing a really great job at curating all the content and all the information that content's the wrong word.

All the information of Iowa football players that are putting stuff out there and letting people know their feelings. Akram Wadley, his mother's been heavily targeting Brian Ferencz about some racial profiling jokes about wearing a mask when it's cold out, and Brian Ferencz joking that, or saying, I guess, that he, was he robbing a liquor store? So obviously a lot of issues there. I know some of the defensive backs especially have brought up concerns as well.

DJ Johnson basically all but said, like, this is one of the reasons why he transferred was because of what was going on within the program. White football player Jack Kallenberger talked about some of the coaches calling him Simple Jack because he had a learning disability, which is obviously never okay. Yeah, just all over the place. I mean, you've got to read this. A ton of Iowa football players basically coming out and vocalizing issues that they have experienced within the Iowa program, which is obviously a huge deal.

Javon Johnson not actually talking about the Iowa program, but just talking about racism in general. Mark Wiseman talking about his time as a player and as a member on the coaching staff and basically apologizing if he didn't see anything or he didn't say anything. I think that's one of the cool things is all Iowa football players are coming together for this. Julian Vanderbilt, I thought, put together a really nice statement

about what happened and the fact that he wishes he would have known what was happening or he would have been aware of it because, you know, he wishes he could have said something about it. George Kittle as well has also stuck up for these guys. Mike Daniels is talking. Christian Kirksey. Basically, you name it, if there's an Iowa football player on Twitter, you know, they've talked about their concerns and about their issues. And I think where there's smoke, there often is fire. And I think some of these words can be very damning for the

Iowa Hawkeye football program. And if you're one of those folks saying, you know, shut up, they had an opportunity to play. They, you know, they turned into a great man or whatever it may be. Um, and just denying the fact that there's any wrongdoing. Um, I really hope you stay for the end of the show because I strongly disagree. disagree. Clearly there's a lot of concerns here and what you're going to find out when I talk on segment number three is it's, you know, we, we have a, I think we have a right to, you know, try to understand the information, but it is not our right to question their feelings or how they felt, um, within the program and however they felt is how they felt.

And I think it's important that we understand, learn and understand why they felt that way or what made them feel that way and what we can do better next time or how we can help. You know, I'm a, I'm a white male. How can I help to make sure that this doesn't happen again? Or how can I make sure that this doesn't go on? So again, I highly encourage you to read Rob Howe, HN on Twitter, read his timeline. He's been doing a great job of curating all the posts that have come up and he can, you know, I could sit here and read all the statements for days and that

could take a really long time. But I think that the big thing, the big thing to note is that Iowa football players are coming out and vocalizing the fact that they are concerned about the Iowa football program and they had racial issues when they were within the program. Repeated drug tests, drug tests weekly, you know, encouraging players to leave or encouraging players to not play or, you know, when black athletes speak out, punishing them essentially. I mean, that's the kind of stuff that has been vocalized.

Racial comments made in the weight room by Chris Doyle. Actually, multiple, multiple comments about that specifically. Phil Parker's name was mentioned by a couple, you know, a DB. And then also some people kind of came to the stand there as well. But lots of lots of information coming out about the issues that are being experienced in the Iowa football program. And I think the most important thing to take away from this is that we need to listen and we need to enact change. So we're going to talk about what is happening now and what has happened since some of those tweets came out. Kirk Ferentz has had a press conference. Statements have been released by Kirk, Chris, and Gary Barta.

released by Kirk, Chris, and Gary Barta. And we're going to talk about some of the other actions that have taken place since then as well, coming up on segment number two of the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast. Before we jump into that, though, just a reminder that our sponsor for the show is Built Bar. And believe me when I tell you this, Built Bar is the best tasting protein bar on the market. It's a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar and delivers all the protein you need right after a very long and hard and grueling workout. It is packed in protein and low in calories and low in sugars. It's exactly what you need. If you're one of those people eating a cliff bar after

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I think the big thing, we'll start with the first kind of the announcements or the press releases from Kirk Ferentz and Gary Barta. I'm going to read these out because I think it is important. But Kirk said, This is a defining moment for the Iowa Hawkeye football program. Over the past 24 hours, I have seen some difficult and heartbreaking posts on social media. I appreciate the former players' candor, and I've been reaching out to many of them individually

to hear more about their experiences in our program. I am planning on talking to all of them in the coming days. This is a process that will take some time, but change begins by listening first. Many of the discussions have centered around our strength and conditioning program and coach Chris Doyle. I have spoken with him about the allegations posted on social media. They are troubling and have created a lasting impact on those players. Therefore, coach Doyle has been placed on administrative leave immediately while there is an independent review. He and I agree that all parties will have their voices heard, and then a decision about how to move forward will be made.

There has been a call for a cultural shift in our program. Therefore, I am creating an advisory committee chaired by a former player and made up of current and former players as well as department staff. This will be a diverse group that will be able to share without judgment so we can all examine where we are today and how we can have a better environment tomorrow. Football is a game of discipline and sacrifice. In our program, there are high standards and accountability. We have a good team of players, coaches, and staff members,

but it is clear we can do more to create a welcoming and respectful environment where every player can grow, develop, and become the best version of himself. As I told the team earlier this week, I'm a white football coach. Teaching is what I do best, but it is also important to know when to be a student. Several days ago, the players asked permissions to post on social media so they could participate in the national discussion around injustice, racism, and inequality. As a team, we agreed last Thursday to lift the longstanding ban of players on social media, and so you'll be seeing them enter the now broader conversation. These are painful times. As a leader, you can learn a lot by listening, but then you must take action.

Finally, I told the team, the change begins with us, but truly change begins with me. Gary Barta also put out a statement. I would say nothing too crazy from what Kirk said. A couple things I want to unpack in that. First, obviously we're going to be seeing players active players on Twitter to you know join these conversations I think this is a really great opportunity to hear the voices of the players and I think it's really great that Iowa did decide to allow that to happen I think it's important that they are involved in this discussion change begins with everyone and I think especially the younger generation that the

you know the kids are 18 18, 19, 20, they have more time on this earth than a lot of us do, and it's important that they are also involved in helping make a long-lasting impact in their community and within the Iowa football program as well. So I think that's really interesting. Chris Doyle being placed on leave, I think that was expected. That was a given. I don't see how you could possibly keep him around for right now. I also think the allegations are pretty damning,

and it'll be interesting to see what happens with that independent investigation. I think at this point, unless Iowa puts in some very strong policies that truly could result in actions if this happens again, I don't know how you can bring coach Chris Doyle back and regain the trust of athletes in the program and all athletes that have been through the Iowa football program, especially the black athletes that have, you know, clearly gone through more of a struggle in the Iowa football program than other athletes have. And I think to make it even worse, Chris Doyle put out a statement,

which I thought was a very interesting statement. He put it out yesterday. He said, for 21 years, I've committed my life to Iowa football and loved with all my heart every single one of the young men I've gotten to work with. And every minute we have spent together into the weight room on the field and as friends and fellow Hawkeyes, I can only imagine how much courage it took for them to speak out on these serious matters. I am proud of them. My job has been to give feedback to our players for 21 years, and now I am receiving feedback myself. I can take it and I won't hide from it. It saddens me to hear the stories of their difficult experiences while in our program. In addition to the outpouring of stories we are hearing across the country, it is time to listen, learn, and grow. Most importantly,

it is time for action. If he would have stopped a statement there, I felt like that was, that was a great statement, but he had to go on. And this is where it gets very interesting. He said, I've been asked to remain silent, but that is impossible for me to do. There have been statements made about my behavior that are not true. I do not claim to be perfect. I have made mistakes, learned lessons, and like every American citizen can do better at no time. Have I ever crossed the line of unethical behavior or biased based upon race? I do not make racist comments and I do not tolerate people who do.

I'm confident that a complete review of the body of work over 21 years will speak for itself. And I am trusting the process to respect the rights and experiences of all parties involved. There are countless men of character who are better fathers, husbands, activists, leaders,

and contributors to society due to their experience at Iowa football. The record will show this. Um, I think that is a very stark contrast to the initial part of his statement. The first three paragraphs, um, I thought were right on track. You know, uh, you need to listen, you need to learn, you need to take action on what you're listening and learning about. Um, and then the fourth paragraph is basically like, i didn't do any of these things and i'm actually not guilty and i'm not saying he is guilty i think you know with anything with due

process you do need to have that independent investigation but like i said it it's not necessarily about you not thinking you're being racist It's about how people are portraying that. And I know that can sometimes be a tough line to understand, but maybe he did not mean it in a racially triggered way, but that is exactly how it was perceived. And that is not okay. And he needs to understand that. And he needs to, to grow from that and be better from that.

But that statement that he made does not show me immediate growth or understanding of the situation from coach chris doyle and you can make the argument of well he got these players the nfl all that crap squash it that's bullcrap i don't care if he got every player to the nfl if he made me an nfl player making racially targeted comments is and jokes and being biased towards players of color is not okay or acceptable in any circumstance. I don't care if you are the greatest strength and conditioning coach mixed with the best coach in the world that does not abstain you from being held accountable for your actions. So I'm going to talk a bit about that in segment number three again, but I wanted to keep going on what has happened since. Tyler Goodson's mom has been very vocal about, you know, Tyler hasn't experienced issues

at Iowa as far as she's aware and what he said, but that she is starting a nonprofit to help, you know, fight some of this injustice among college programs. So I think that's a really cool takeaway and awesome by her to, you know, to be willing to do something about this, even though her son personally is not experiencing this. She wants to make sure that this doesn't happen across the country as well. So I think that is really, really cool to see her put that together. And I think it's a great opportunity to continue to grow other programs as well. I'm gonna try to find the specific statement on that right now. So it's a pretty long statement. I'm going to read the last

two paragraphs, though, just so you know what it is called. She says, so I've decided decided to start a not for profit organization called the called the Minority Athlete Coalition. One of the biggest goals will be to educate collegiate programs on racial sensitivity and to help them develop an inclusive culture where all genders and races are treated well and experience the same equality as their counterparts. This will also serve as a safe place for athletes to gain the support and backing needed when faced with inequality in their prospective program. This is my thought on paper, but I will be partnering with collegiate programs, athletes, both amateur and professional, so that we can eradicate this problem together.

Stay tuned. Hashtag be the change. Hashtag black boy, mom, hashtag Lord heal our land. We get better as a people. When truth is spoken, listening begins and action is taken. Let change and healing begin. So, um, I think that's a really powerful move by her. I think it's a great opportunity to, again, to continue to build change and develop the program. One of the things as Kirk talked about, you know, developing a group that is going to be made up and held accountable by former players, current players, et cetera. That is going to be led by Mike Daniels. Um, that is, I think that's awesome and a great, great start. Um, Iowa, uh, the class 2021, I know people have been seeing some stuff on there. Um, sounds like

they are holding strong Deuce Hogan, the quarterback, the four-star quarterback that we've had on the show. Um, excuse me, class of 2020, I should say, um, they are doing well. And I think they are behind Deuce and everything he's saying. And I think, if anything, this is going to bring them closer together, which is fantastic. I hope they can help become that change within the program. A guy like Deuce, to me, I've met with him a couple times and talked to them on the podcast.

And he's a natural-born leader. And I think he's the kind of person who can help, um, lead this group into the next era of Iowa football. Um, especially from a, a racial standpoint of making sure that equality exists among all players, um, regardless of color. vandalism in Iowa city, uh, with statues, with the stadium, with the hospital. Um, I, I do not support, um, vandalism. I think that was an appropriate, um, and a lot of the players are also backing that as well. You know, even the players that were speaking out against IO football, we're also saying, do not be vandalizing the hospital or the stadium or the, especially the Nile Kinnick, um, statue, a guy who would have been on the front lines of standing for racial equality and even was back in his day. So I think that was probably not the right approach to handling those things.

And I'm going to talk a bit about that as well. Again, I don't understand the pain of the people that are protesting peacefully or violently. I have gone to a peaceful protest in Denver and it was a very powerful experience, a very eye-opening experience. And the one thing I can leave you with from that is just because a few people are protesting violently doesn't mean that all of the people protesting

are violent or showing inappropriate behaviors. There is a very, very large core cohort, um, that are very, you know, that are trying to enact change and doing it in a peaceful way by spreading, um, the word and love and positivity and equality for all. And I want to talk a bit about that on segment number three, but, um, that kind of wraps up segment number two, talking about what has happened since obviously a lot's going to be going on over the next couple of weeks as the Iowa football team tries to figure out where to move from here. So we're going to be covering all that on the show, but I want to get into my thoughts as well. I think it's really important to especially given my background, right? Being a

white male with Mexican, Hispanic background, Hispanic heritage. My mother's Hispanic, my family's Hispanic, but I'm very Caucasian looking. Growing up in a small town in Iowa, Newton, Iowa, hometown of Nick Easley, and having a lot of friends, I think kind of fall on both sides of the coin when it comes to thoughts on what is happening. So I think it's really important to give my background and experiences and how I have changed and what has changed me as well. So that's me coming up on a segment number three after a few messages from our sponsors.

All right, so we're back with segment number three of the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. And like I said, I'm going to be talking about my thoughts on this entire situation. And we're, you know, we're not necessarily going to be just focusing on the Iowa football team this is just life in general and I think there's sometimes there's moments in life that are much bigger than sports and this is possibly the biggest one that is bigger than sports this is something that should just be happening but it it isn't. Um, I don't care who you are. Um,

it is, it is clear that people of color are, have felt injustice and continued injustice. Um, you know, despite, despite, you know, uh, yeah, slavery was abolished and MLK marched and there were, um, a few more changes, but that doesn't mean we're all the way there. And we're clearly not all the way there. And when you read some of these stories, just think about the fact that if you're a white person listening to this, have you experienced those things before? I think a great example is I don't fear being pulled over by the police. I don't like being pulled over by the cops, but I don't fear it. I don't fear being pulled over by the police. I don't like being pulled over by the cops, but I don't fear it. I don't fear for my life.

And if, you know, as a, as a person of color, if you're feeling, fearing for your life, anytime you get pulled over by a cop, that is not okay. If you've been targeted because you fit a profile of someone that is not okay. The, the fact that, you know, a lot of these Iowa football players don't feel like they can even speak in the program. That is not okay. The fact that, you know, a lot of these Iowa football players don't feel like they can even speak in the program, that is not okay. They should not fear retribution or punishment for their actions by speaking out against racism. And I think that goes for both black players and also white players, all colors of players, right? I mean, no one should fear speaking out for what is right. And the fact that we are in 2020, and we still do not have the ability to

act as morally decent people across the entire population, and we are not able to act without inherent biases, makes it clear that there's still a huge, huge racial issue across the country. And, um, but I think one of the things that I've kind of seen, I want to address a couple of different topics here. Um, the first, the black lives movement, wow, black lives matter movement. Um, if you're one of those people saying all lives matter, um, yes, that's not, I get what you're saying. That's not the point of this though. We're not saying that other people's lives don't matter. We're not saying that cops lives don't matter. Well, we're what, what the black lives matter movement is about is, um, the fact that black people are still treated with less as lesser humans by a lot, you know, by, by people across the country. And there are, um, and not,

not just, not just, uh, day to day. It's not like, I'm not saying, you know, someone's getting called inappropriate, you know, words every single day, but just the system is broken for black people. Um, look at the fact that, um, you know, look at the fact that housing properties, for example, the, the way the lines were drawn, you ago, whatever, put racial groups in similar populations and then allowed funding to be based off of those populations, which basically systemically holds people of color down more than it does white people. And that's, again, not to say people can get out of that. White people also run into financial issues and there's issues with that. But systemically, there is a concern there. And then the fact that from a police officer perspective, there's not a lot to hold these police officers accountable in the good old boys club.

Not all police officers are bad. I have a cousin, like cousin or uncle, I'm not sure what you call him. I think cousin who is a sheriff in Minnesota. And he is one of the best guys I know. And he truly does want to make a difference across the community. He is not one of these guys who is a bad cop among the cops. But nevertheless, changing the system is not about changing my cousin Ryan. It is about changing how we are weeding out the bad apples and how we are weeding out the bad cops and the people who are unable to serve and protect their community. And that's one of the things I learned. I went to a protest here

in Denver and it was a peaceful protest and very powerful. Lots of people speaking. I thought they did a really great job of hearing all voices. But the biggest thing that stuck out to me was policy changes need to happen. Everyone needs to love everyone and everyone needs to be kind to each person. And no one should be judged or judged on the basis of their skin color. And no one should be fearful because of their skin color when they walk out the door. There's a couple of things that was pretty powerful that I think specifically I want to call out. The guy's name is Q the Q.

I highly recommend following him on Instagram. He is, I follow him now. And I think if you aren't following black activists on, on Instagram or Facebook, or at least just reading what they're doing and you're coming to judgments, then you're not doing your full job. You need to vet through what is happening and truly try to understand that even if you fall on the side of these football players

shouldn't be talking and racism isn't real, you're wrong. And I don't like to just call, but that's wrong, first of all. But if you are on that side, please try to educate yourself with information that is not coming from the sources that specifically surround you, because we typically surround ourselves with like-minded people that are similar to us, which can sometimes lead to us being in a bubble. I'm from Iowa. I get it. I grew up in a town that had maybe 15 black people. All great people. I knew all of them.

But when you're in a town of 15,000 people and 15 are black, it is easy to have this bubble of racism isn't real because I don't see it. Or I don't see color. That's bull crap. We all see color. It's part of who we are and it's part of our identifier. But having a reaction that is based off of race negatively is not okay. And just because we don't see it doesn't mean it isn't alive and well.

And, you know, again, I used to be one of those people that said all lives matter. I was ignorant. It was, it was not okay. It was, you know, seven years ago and I have changed. And what, you know, part of what has changed me is my experiences. And also just being willing to grow and learn and accept my white privilege. I think I was initially taken aback because I didn't, you know, I, I wasn't in a rich home. I wasn't in a wealthy part of the community per se. I wasn't even an insider. I mean, my, like I said, I'm, you know, part Hispanic, my family, part of my family wasn't necessarily from my town. Um, and I didn't really, you know, I didn't have a, I didn't have a bad upbringing by any means, but what I'm saying is

like, I wasn't just handed everything on a silver freaking platter. Um, and so when, you know, this movement came out initially, I was like, well, this, this is taking away from what I did, but that's not what it is. It is all, um, being white is a privilege. And what helped me realize this is like, I don't have to worry about the color of my skin or what I'm wearing. Um, being white is a privilege and what helped me realize this is like, I don't have to worry about the color of my skin or what I'm wearing because my color of my skin is white and people aren't, um, people don't treat me differently because of that. Um, and that is what white privilege is. I didn't have to, I had to work hard for everything I did, but one of the things I didn't have to work to do is change the color of my skin.

Right. And I think when, you know, for a black person, they could be doing everything they had to do that they could be doing everything I did to get to wherever they're at. Right. But they also have to fight the inherent bias that comes with being a black male in the community as well. So that I think was a very tough thing to learn. And that's why I talk about, you know, with this being an uncomfortable conversation,

it helps you grow. And I really encourage everyone listening to this. If you are still not sure what side you're on, please just continue to educate yourself. If you want to talk about it, I'm happy to talk about it. Being a person who used to kind of think along those lines. But it was uncomfortable accepting the fact that I have white privilege and the fact that that's not a bad thing. I mean, it's not a knock on me as a human. It's just understanding that, um, I don't have to worry about the color of my skin impeding my progress in society, whereas other minorities do. And this isn't just black people, but this is definitely where we're targeting right now is, you know, the black people like, um, minority minorities in general. Um, it shouldn't,

you shouldn't be profiled or, um, impeded upon when trying to make progress because of the color of your skin. Um, so I got a little tangent there. Like I said, the uncomfortable thing, um, that I thought another thing I thought was really moving, moving from that, the protest I went to, um, was a cue, the cue again, um, follow him on Instagram. It's Q as in the letter, uh, the T H E Q Q U E. So Q T H E Q U E follow him on Instagram. He, I think he does a really great job of inspiring people to be vocal about what is wrong and what is right and trying to make a difference. One of the things he also said was he was, he was watching the Discovery Channel with his daughter

and they were talking about lobsters and apparently lobsters, they have a shell. And if they choose to not shed their shell, they cannot grow bigger. But when they do shed their shell, there's a moment of vulnerability where they can be washed up and crushed into a rock. They can be eaten by another animal. But they need to shed that shell to be able to grow bigger. And I think as human beings, especially as white people, we need to shed our shell of insecurity and uncomfortability

with the fact that we are privileged as white people, that we do have an advantage inherently due to our skin color and be willing to be part of that change and be vocal about that change. And it starts one person at a time. You know, if it's your aunt or your uncle or your cousin or your brother, whoever it may be who doesn't believe in this, it starts with having mature intellectual conversations with them about why this is important and why it's important for them to also help enact change. Again, they might not see it and they don't believe it happens. They don't see it, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Um, again, that's

the boat I used to fall on, but I've seen this happen before. Um, and I've seen, you know, I've had backlash for posting things on social media. For example, I went to a country concert with my wife. My wife is Hispanic and Panamanian. She is a pretty dark color brown. Whereas again, I'm Hispanic and I look white as an albino person. I'm pretty pale personally. But we went to a country concert and it was uncomfortable the stares that were she was getting and I posted about that you know on my Twitter account and I got some backlash for it

people saying well how do you know people weren't just staring at her because she's pretty or whatever and that wasn't the point the point is that she felt uncomfortable enough that we ended up leaving early because people were staring at her and that should never be the case. Um, we were in Louisiana, uh, going to new Orleans and had a great time in new Orleans, but on the way there, we stopped at a brewery in a smaller town, uh, in Lafayette. And we walked into this brewery and it was all white people. And I'm not kidding you. Everyone stopped talking and stared at us. It was me, my wife and my white friend, Ryan. And it clearly wasn't because of us too. Um, and it was very uncomfortable to see that it just stopped and stare to her. Um, so again, it's not about what you see. It's about how these people are feeling and making sure you're listening and

being there to support them. Um, understanding how you can support them, not just, you know, say, I got you, man, but what are you doing to put, you know, make change in your community? And I think that's really important with the Iowa football team as well is great. You know, it sounds like Kirk is listening, but what can we do? What can he do to change that program and make it an accepting place across the board? What can you do as a human being to make it an accepting place wherever you are? Um, what can you do? Um, if a black person is being targeted because of his race, can you stick up for him? You should be, um, or her, I say, you should be able to stick up for, you know, him, her, uh, how, you know, he, she, however they identify, you should be

able to stick up for them. Um, and I think that's really important to, to that's really important to understand as a population that we need to be doing better by everyone. Just because we don't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. And again, that goes back to these football players. Those of you saying, I want examples and I don't believe you, shut up and listen. Clearly, there's enough players. I mean, where there's smoke, there's fire. There's been 25, 30 players that have spoken out about this.

Clearly, there's an issue. And yeah, there's a few that I'm like, that doesn't seem, you know, terrible. Right. But again, that's not, I'm not there. I wasn't there in that position. I cannot judge what they feel and what they feel is that they are being racially targeted. And if that is the case, then things need to change. And I just don't see how Chris Doyle can stay on with the program, especially after his

statement as well. Um, and yeah, I mean, yeah, I don't know if that's, I guess that's my thoughts on the entire situation. I know I went a bit over on the time today, but I think it's really important to discuss that. Um, that will wrap up the show today though. Um, we'll be talking about this more over the coming weeks. Um, I hope if you have questions or want to talk about this, um, please feel free to do so. I'm happy to, I'm open. Um, my DMS are open on Twitter.

I'm on my personal account, Wade underscore Andrew, or my lockdown account, um, locked on Iowa. Uh, make sure to check out both of those, um, and happy to have a conversation with you. Um, if it can stay, uh, positive and meaningful and not degrading, I will have a conversation with anyone. But, and I think that goes for anyone, any of you there that are trying to make change and trying to help change people's perceptions of this, the incorrect perception of this, think about that as well. Don't come at them in a degrading way, come at them in a way that speaks to them and try to understand why they feel that way. It's part of listening and then help educate them and coach them up on why it's important to be standing up for the Black Lives Matter movement.

So that'll do it, though, for the show today. I hope you all enjoyed this a little bit different take on the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast. We'll be back with another episode tomorrow. We're going to be having Matt Tybee on the show. The Iowa United are not playing in the TBT tournament this year, but we are going to be having Matt Tybee on the show. The Iowa United are not playing in the TBT tournament this year, but we're going to be talking to Matt anyways and talking about why that's bull crap and a little bit more about the tournament and his time overseas.

Matt is an Iowa guy who loves the Hawks, so we're going to talk a bit about basketball as well and probably talk a bit about what is going on in the world today. So thank you all for tuning in to today's episode of the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. As always, I hope you all have a fantastic day and be that voice of change out there. And if you do want more content to cover or more content to listen to on the Locked On podcast network, make sure to check out the Locked On Big Ten podcast show. Ben Stevens does a great job there covering all the teams in the Big Ten.

So if you didn't just get your Hawkeye fix and you want some Big Ten fix, make sure to check out the Locked On Big Ten podcast as well. Like I said, be safe out there, be the voice of change, and as always, let's go Hawks. We'll see you next time.