We've seen the NFL players who took a knee to protest brutality. We've seen the unity in NBA players wearing hoodies to support senseless violence. We've seen the players who refuse to visit the White House to voice their beliefs against divisive rhetoric. Those acts were displayed on a national level.
Then there is what happened in Lincoln...
While everyone was caught up in the spectacle of the Winter Olympics or perhaps wondering how the new members of the Cleveland Cavaliers would mesh, what was going on in the heartland of America speaks to what continues to be the central issue that tears at the fabric of freedom everywhere. University of Nebraska student Daniel Kleve made a disturbing video (warning: NSFW due to explicit language) on how he wanted to shoot a Nigerian co-worker and was a part of the white supremacist rally this past summer in Charlottesville, Virginia.
There were protests to have him expelled on the campus, but the men's basketball team responded in their own way. Instead of not participating in games, they took the court wearing t-shirts that had the slogan "Hate Will Never Win" and creating a public service announcement to be displayed before their home games.
It's easy to dismiss this as a problem that is happening in one centralized area, but we now know better. Romans 12:21 teaches us "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
College is challenging enough, it's doubly tough when having to balance out academics with athletics. Now imagine having to be in the midst of a racial storm that no one asked for. These players took the high road, and found that others stood with them.
Think about that the next time someone puts up a tweet or a racist post on social media. Will you stoop to their level, or will you stand for what is right? To quote Harrison Ford's character Branch Rickey in the movie 42, "I want a player who's got the guts not to fight back."
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