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ESPN College GameDay officially returned on Saturday, August 5, and it was a memorable episode. Not only was it a first look at the remote setup for the go-to college football pregame show, but Kirk Herbstreit delivered incredible comments on racial injustice and issues players are facing going into the season.
Herbstreit was brought to tears during his emotional comments which urged everyone to try to understand, listen, and to do better so that we can all continue to grow and heal during these difficult times.
“I was talking to David Shaw, the head coach at Stanford and he shared a quote from Benjamin Franklin. He said, ‘Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are. The Black community is hurting. If you’ve listened. How do you listen to these stories and not feel pain and not want to help?” Herbstreit asks. “Wearing a hoodie. Putting your hands at 10 and 2. ‘Oh god, I’d better watch out because I’m wearing Nike gear.’ Like, what? What are we talking about? You can’t relate to that if you’re white, but you can listen and you can try to help. Because this is not OK. It’s just not.
“We’ve got to do better, man. We’ve got to, like, lock arm-in-arm and be together.”
You can watch Herbstreit’s full comments below:
This season, college football teams, like professional franchises, have been ramping up their efforts to fight racial injustice and to take a more active stand against systemic racism.
ESPN’s Maria Taylor sat down with some of the Power Five student-athletes to discuss what they are going through and to share their experiences and perspective on the current climate of the United States.
