Rod Wilson’s been at South Carolina for a little over three months now, but his time with the Gamecocks goes back much further than that. He played at South Carolina, represented the Gamecocks in the NFL and came back this spring as linebackers coach.

He understands the struggles that come with being an athlete at the university and some of the challenges black athletes face, which is why he wants to be a resource for his players in a very trying time.

As protests rage in America over the death of George Floyd, Wilson wants to and has had productive conversations with his players about dealing with the emotions that come with seeing racial injustice.

“First of all, I let them know I’m here. I understand what they’re dealing with,” Wilson said in a Zoom meeting Monday. “I’m black and I’m a former athlete. I understand what they’re going through; I understand their feelings. I just want them to be able to talk it out. If they’re feeling a certain type of way and need someone to talk it out with just give me a call. That’s what I communicated to them.”

Also see: Storylines to watch as players begin returning to campus

He was asked about this in response to the murder of Floyd, who was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis last week.

Floyd’s death prompted protests across the entire country over the last few days, including multiple in Columbia this weekend.

Dawn Staley was at one of the peaceful protests Saturday morning and, while no player has posted anything about being at some of the protests, a few players have taken to Twitter to voice their opinion.

For Wilson, he has no problem with any of his players speaking out against social racial injustice in America and will stand up for them in that regard.

He did say he’s had conversations privately with players on the team about the situation, although he said he wasn’t comfortable sharing those conversations publicly.

“My heart goes out to George Floyd and his family and all his friends,” Wilson said. “What’s happening with him is unbelievable. That’s kind of where we are in this country right now, and that’s sad to say. From a player standpoint, I’m just there for them. They have a voice. If they want to speak their voice, I’m behind them.”

Also see: Quick notes on two hoops prospects

Plenty of Gamecocks have stepped up to put out statements about Floyd’s death with Staley joining the peaceful protest Saturday morning at the State House while Ray Tanner, Will Muschamp, Frank Martin and Mark Kingston all have come out and posted something on social media about the situation.

Muschamp tweeted Saturday night “Easy to do what is right. #CoachesStandforJustice” with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. attached that read: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.”

For Wilson—who’s Muschamp’s employee, a former South Carolina player and Gamecock alum—that was huge to see the head coach of a SEC program step up and make a public statement.

“That’s huge to have someone of Coach Muschamp’s caliber in the position he’s in and the platform he has, to be able to stand out there and make a comment about it is huge and it’s huge for the players” Wilson said. “I thought he handled it well. Whatever else he does behind closed doors is great and it’s going to be great.”