The National Association of Basketball Coaches announced Thursday that it has formed a committee to address issues “related to racial injustice both within intercollegiate athletics and society at large.”
South Carolina head coach Frank Martin will serve as the chair of the NABC Committee on Racial Reconciliation. The NABC Board of Directors also sent all member coaches recommended action steps for engaging with their teams during the ongoing nationwide unrest following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.
“The NABC spends significant time on important issues in our sport such as transfers and the recruiting calendar, but they pale in significance to the racial conflicts our country is currently facing and the underlying issues that got us to this point,” NABC president and TCU head coach Jamie Dixon said. “Our hope is that this committee and list of recommendations can leverage the platforms we have as coaches to help bring about needed change.”
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The NABC’s recommendations are broken down into five categories — team communication, student-athlete engagement, connect with internal and external leaders, become an advocate and commit to learning.
Some of the recommendations are holding team meetings to discuss racial injustice, sharing the team’s feedback with campus leadership, making election day an off day, encouraging all athletes and staff to register to vote, and holding a team meeting with local law enforcement leaders and/or campus diversity leaders.
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