It is essential during today’s times for schools, businesses, and programs to show their responses towards racial justice and equality. The University of Alabama football program took some time to think about the issues at hand and came out with the perfect response.
Senior offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood wrote a speech that featured teammates and leaders from the team such as Mac Jones and Jaylen Waddle.
With words from head coach Nick Saban, the program spoke about the significance of coming together as a family during this time of racial justice.
The past that the state of Alabama carries behind them made it even more significant for the Crimson Tide to make such a statement. The university has taken multiple steps in the right direction on issues such as this.
Nothing more could be asked of the Alabama football team once the video was posted. Everything that needed to be said was certainly said. Like all social media posts, this one received mixed reviews.
How did Alabama football fans react?
Many of the comments and reactions were positive and people loved the main point that “all lives can’t matter until black lives matter.”
Some people giving their opinions were die-hard Alabama fans, while others became fans of the program after watching the video.
Former college teammates of Leatherwood and others showed their opinions by commenting or retweeting the video with a caption of their own.
Booker T. Washington High School’s Girls Basketball team showed how proud they were of Leatherwood and commented:
“Our very own Booker T. Washington Wildcat alumni Alex Leatherwood is making it known Black Lives Matter!”
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Alabama football is a massive program that most football fans have heard of at some point in time. Whether people love or hate the team, there is no denying that what the program has set for values isn’t moving in some way.
After capitalizing on what they stand for as a team, there were critics who shared a few words of their own about the post.
As long as the message was being heard, the Crimson Tide was willing to take the blowback from the nationally made statement.
It is impossible to please every person wearing the signature script A on their clothes, but Alabama went out of their way to do what was right by creating such a powerful video with a lot of meaning.
The video was a step in the right direction for the university during this time. The concrete symbol of unity from this movement will come with actions. Alabama football certainly showed it’s a true family and not just a team.
