Right now, the world is going through a stretch of history over the past four months it has never seen before.
On February 23, Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old African-American man, was killed just outside of Brunswick, GA, after a white father and son duo chased him down in their pickup truck. Arbery was shot dead after the two men suspected him to look like a thief that had been involved in several break-ins around their neighborhood. Prior to the encounter that led to his death, Arbery had been jogging.
On March 11, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, a global pandemic. There have been over six million confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 380,000 deaths to date worldwide.
On March 13, police officers in Louisville, KY, obtained a “no-knock” warrant that allowed them to enter a home without warning or acknowledging persons of interest that they are law enforcement officials. Events escalated quickly, leading to the death of a 26-year-old African-American woman, Breonna Taylor. Fearing that intruders were breaking into his home, Kenneth Walker, the boyfriend of Taylor, opened fire on the officers, and Taylor was fatally shot in the process. Tragically, police were searching for illegal drugs that had no connection with Taylor. Prior to the encounter that led to her death, Taylor had been sleeping in her bed.
Most recently, on May 25, police officers in Minneapolis, MN, were called by an employee after a 46-year-old African-American man, George Floyd, paid for a pack of cigarettes using a counterfeit $20 bill. Floyd was encountered by four police officers, and was arrested for forging money. Floyd was handcuffed and pinned to the ground next to a police car with an officer pressing his knee directly on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds, leading to his death.
The three deaths of African-American individuals during the past four months have sparked protests and riots across the United States. Regardless of skin color, Americans throughout the entire country have joined forces to combat and speak out against police brutality and racial injustice.
Add Tom Allen to the list.
“I just want them to know that we’re [the coaching staff] here for them. That we’ll listen. I want to know what they're feeling,” the Indiana head football coach said at a Zoom press conference on Wednesday, referring to what many of his African-American players are going through. “Listening and supporting them right now is very important.”
On May 29, Allen decided to take his thoughts to Twitter, believing that he could no longer stay silent with the apparent issues at hand.
“We want to be able to have that next step of dialogue with our players and law enforcement. I think that is a very important part of all this,” Allen said. “To be able to sit down and talk man-to-man and voice concerns, things that they feel and things that's going on in their heads, and be able to have an open forum.”
For Allen, what is taking place in the United States goes beyond the conflicts of the pandemic and racial inequality— it’s about loving each other, or ‘LEO’ as the Hoosier head coach puts it— coming together as one no matter what a person’s race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and political background might be.
Indiana football, in particular, has gone through some hardships over the past month.
On May 8, the parents of redshirt junior WR Cam Wilson were found dead less than 24 hours apart. It is believed that Wilson’s father, Troy, shot and killed his mother, Cassondra, before killing himself in Indianapolis in an apparent murder-suicide hours later.
Just this past Saturday night, former Indiana defensive end Chris Beaty died after reportedly helping individuals outside his apartment from being robbed. He was 38.
There are two separate GoFundMe pages that have been created in honor of Wilson’s mother and the passing of Beaty. Make sure to check out these hyperlinks if you would like to donate.
“It makes football seem pretty trivial compared to some of these things for sure,” Allen said. “Football has kind of been a big topic because talking about when we're going to play again. There are a lot more important things right now than that. That's why ‘LEO’ to me is such a big deal.”
Allen, who has coached at four different high schools and six different universities before coming to Indiana, has kept his message of loving each other consistent no matter where he has gone.
“It’s what I believed in my whole coaching career,” Allen said. “I brought it here and I believe in it and stand by it because it’s about life and it’s transferrable to football.”
The Hoosiers are coming off their best season since 1993— winning eight games during the 2019 campaign. Indiana has a tall task ahead of them beginning their season at Wisconsin in almost three months, but for now, Allen wants to focus on uniting the team through times of uncertainty.
“It’s [Indiana] a great football team that has a high level of success on game day, and a team that can build young men for life. To me, that's what my ultimate responsibility is,” Allen said. “It’s not for the wins and losses, but it’s for the character of the men we developed. That's what I believe I’ll be judged for as a coach one day."
The full transcript from Wednesday’s press conference can be found here.
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