( Photo / Chris Wallace )
Hanna Cooper
Sports Editor
“I bleed the same way that you bleed.”
These words rang across the John Robert Lewis quad last Friday as junior linebacker KJ Robertson stood in front of his fellow teammates, coaching staff and other bystanders during Troy football’s unity march.
The team marched from Veterans Memorial Stadium to the quad to raise their voices on the need for social justice and unity.
“When I think about this team, I think about how we are a bunch of different guys that come from different backgrounds,” junior wide receiver Luke Whittemore said.
“The reason I love football is because we are able to be successful because we put those backgrounds aside and come together 365 days out of the year, and we work towards a common goal.
“That is how it needs to be in this issue.”
Head Football Coach Chip Lindsey joined his team in the march and opened up the gathering expressing his gratitude for the squad and their willingness to communicate openly and effectively about the things they are passionate about.
“I am proud of our team and for the unity we have shown through this,” Lindsey said. “They have communicated openly and talked about what is important to them.
“I made a commitment to you guys when I first got here and that was that the players are number one.”
The Trojans stood united on the quad thanking one another for not being a part of the problem, but being a part of the solution. However, as this nation continues to find ways to actively promote change, senior wide receiver Khalil McClain said that change lies within an area that he is passionate about.
“Change has to come, and it starts with the youth,” McClain said.
“I am a human service major and the reason that I got into that is because I love the youth.
“I feel like if we invest our time in them, the change is going to come. When we are old men and our kids are grown up, they won’t see skin color. They will only see the blood that is in our veins.”
