Last week, as civil unrest dominated headlines and the Gamecocks were preparing to come back to campus, Will Muschamp had a Zoom meeting with his team.
During it, the goal was for players to have a platform to talk about some of the things they’ve felt over the last few weeks as protests were held nationwide speaking out against the murder of George Floyd and racial inequality.
The meeting went for over two and a half hours as players had a dialogue about what was wrong with the world and what they could do to try and make things even just a little bit better.
As the meeting ended a little after 12:30 p.m., Muschamp’s phone rang and it was offensive coordinator Mike Bobo.
"Mike Bobo called me up and said, ‘You know what? You got some guys that are well thought out, that think about issues, that think about problems.’ There were some really intelligent, bright comments that were brought up by this football team with some very strong individuals with strong personalities. Here’s a guy, coach Bobo’s been here since December and we broke up in March when we broke for spring break. He’s basically seen January and February being around our team and players. To hear that from him said a lot,” Muschamp said. “I thought that call was very revealing that we have some strong personalities and good leadership.”
A few days later, it was Muschamp and his wife, Carol, leading a group of over 100 Gamecock football players and staffers through Columbia as part of a peaceful protest against racial injustice.
“Actions are louder than words. I can put out a paragraph on social media. That does nothing compared to what we did Friday as a team,” Muschamp said. “Actions are what we need. We can’t be silent about racial inequality at this time.”
Along with that, Muschamp’s had two main guest speakers for his team: Leevy Johnson, the first African American graduate of South Carolina’s law school and first black president of the South Carolina Bar Association and Reverend Charles Jackson Sr., who leads the Gamecocks’ spiritual development program.
Johnson discussed his role in Columbia’s civil rights movement of the 1960s and discussed the importance of voting while Jackson talked about being empathetic to fellow teammates and communicating peacefully about things that are bothering them.
Since then, Muschamp said “most of our guys” registered to vote last week and the coaching staff is planning on giving the team time Nov. 3 to vote on Election Day.
“I don’t think there’s any question through times of adversity you find out a lot about people. I saw the team galvanize themselves through some meetings last week and on Friday. That was nothing that surprised me or shocked me,” Muschamp said. “I’ve been pleased with how we’ve come together through an adverse situation to try and make a difference in our state and in our country.”
The Gamecocks begin their offseason workout schedule Monday as they begin ratcheting things up to a potential football season this September.
They’ll do it with a lot of the country in an intriguing spot with Coronavirus still looming and protests still going on against the murder of George Floyd and racial injustice.
“I share the anger and frustration that we’ve witnessed across the country. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of George Floyd and others who have seen a similar fate,” Muschamp said. “The police brutality and this conduct occurred in Minneapolis and what has happened in other places in our country—including right here in South Carolina—is unacceptable and needs to stop. It’s sad in 2020 we’re having these conversations.”
