Hoyas Wore "I Can't Breathe" Shirts Pre-game vs KU.

[R Jay]

Who cares? They have a right to their opinion and the right to share their opinion. In sharing their opinion they aren't committing any crimes or disrupting society. Further, their opinion and their method of sharing it doesn't infringe on my rights. In fact, it doesn't impact my life at all. So, who cares?

[NJRedman]

This has no place on the court. You put on the uniform you represent something bigger than yourself. You represent a university and the thousands of people who have gone through that university. I am fairly certain that it is not the official position of Georgetown University, and certainly not the position of each and every one of its alumni, that cops are murderers.

I don't care what you're protesting. I don't care what side of whatever issue you're on. This is NOT the place for it. What next? Maybe some players want to wear pro-abortion shirts. That will go over great at our Catholic universities. Protest the death penalty? CIA interrogation techniques? Where does it stop? Protest whatever you want ON YOUR OWN TIME. When you represent nothing more than yourself. Anyone representing my university, wearing my university's uniform, protests ANYTHING I walk out of the arena.

And it is downright hilarious that this new and ridiculous trend of athletes protesting in uniform at the games they play was started by the Rams wide receivers, the ringleader of that inane, absurd hands-up protest nonsense being Kenny Britt. Seriously. Kenny Britt. I'm supposed to take seriously an anti-cop protest led by Kenny Britt? Child, please.

Who are are you, a Setin Hall alumnI presume to tell Georgetown and their team how they are supposed to carry themselves? You worry about your team/school/players and follow YOUR advice and keep YOUR opinion to yourself.

God damn, some people forget what country we're in and our history.

[shupirate98]

God damn, some people forget what country we're in and our history.

Says the guy with the cartoon Indian avatar.

[BigMac]

God damn, some people forget what country we're in and our history.

Says the guy with the cartoon Indian avatar.

Ok, now that's just flat out funny. I grew up a huge Georgetown fan and still am when they're not playing the Jays. I am most proud of being in the conference with this legendary and classy program and believe in what they've accomplished. They are the perfect program to make a statement such as this and I believe in free speech all the way. Go Big East. (wished they had pulled out that game tho)

[dmac80]

Georgetown basketball has been associated with racial politics for about 40 years now.

http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2007/03/the_worlds_most_dangerous_basketball_team.html

"But the fear, back then, had as much to do with race as hoops. Georgetown basketball under John Thompson was always intertwined with racial politics. That was inevitable when an elite Eastern university, then as now overwhelmingly white, started fielding teams made up almost exclusively of black players....
Around the time Georgetown won the 1984 national championship, the university trademarked the Hoyas name and snarling-bulldog logo. This was the first college sports team to become a brand—and it was a tremendously lucrative one. By the early '90s, Georgetown apparel outsold even schools with powerhouse football programs. Georgetown Starter jackets sold well across the country, but the team's image was especially resonant in black America. Not only was this an all-black team with a black coach, the Hoyas also played in a majority-black city run by a black mayor."

I'm assuming most of the posters here are white and old. Isn't it a bit tone-deaf to critique college basketball players who are predominantly black to not speak their mind about what is clearly a racial politics issue? Especially since most of us sit around all day commenting on message boards about how well they are performing for our entertainment? The irony is a bit too juicy.

You are right in the first part about the Hoyas historically but please spare us the "white and old" bs. That line is so tired. I'm 34 and virtually everyone I know my age and older finds the protests ridiculous. Is that old?

I don't think they should have done it while representing the school but I'm not going to lose sleep over it, and as you correctly stated Georgetown has a history so it probably means more coming from them. I wish the protestors would focus their intensity on black community issues rather than white cops who are not their enemy, but I'm just an "old white guy" so I guess that means I need to shut up (unless I agree with the protestors of course -most of whom are white and yes young liberals in the Boston area).

[aughnanure]

I don't think anyone is "freaking out" about the shirts. Shupirate was right. It just was not appropriate. I, for one, would be very disappointed if our coach allowed players to protest as a group in that manner.

What does that even mean? It's JUST your opinion. Christ, a bunch of old white dudes getting bothered by some young black kids making a *small* statement against police brutality. I for one would not be embarrassed for my university if our athletes took a stand on an important civil right issue.

God, and not every freakin' thing a student athlete (or any student) does "reflects" back on the university.

[nathanhm]

I can't speak for all Hoyas, but at least with my generation we were extremely proud our team made a statement. Many things in life are bigger than sports and I applaud our guys for coming together as a team to make a statement on a social issue, which frankly many of them may have dealt with in their own lives or the lives of their family and friends.

Channeling my inner JT Jr. we really don't give a **** about who doesn't like it, the team needed to say it so they did.

[SJU1987]

All the sports should ban those kind of statements/protests. The St. Louis Rams came out with their hands up . But what about the Cop families watching the game ? Are Whites suppose to sit and watch that display ? Those players can protest all they want out of uniform , but not while their wearing the teams uniform.
It's like with the loud mouth Hollywood people , they say horrible things about Republican Presidents and they forget that a lot of their fans are Republican. Why anger them ? I watch college basketball and other sports because I like to, I don't wanna be reminded about non sports issues. We can watch the news for that stuff.

[bird_call]

I'm assuming most of the posters here are white and old. Isn't it a bit tone-deaf to critique college basketball players who are predominantly black to not speak their mind about what is clearly a racial politics issue? Especially since most of us sit around all day commenting on message boards about how well they are performing for our entertainment? The irony is a bit too juicy.

You are right in the first part about the Hoyas historically but please spare us the "white and old" bs. That line is so tired. I'm 34 and virtually everyone I know my age and older finds the protests ridiculous. Is that old?

I'm 38 and white, and yes, we are both old compared to college kids born in the 1990s.

You and I and a lot of the posters here are the same demographic as the police officers involved in the incidents sparking these protests. The student-athletes are basically the same demographic as the victims of the violence.

Maybe you can see that comments disparaging a simple t-shirt wearing protest could be construed as a) lacking empathy b) tone-deaf and/or c) racially motivated?

To put it another way, you expect them to be "seen but not heard". Well, I think they have a right to be heard, too.

[aughnanure]

All the sports should ban those kind of statements/protests. The St. Louis Rams came out with their hands up . But what about the Cop families watching the game ? Are Whites suppose to sit and watch that display ? Those players can protest all they want out of uniform , but not while their wearing the teams uniform.
It's like with the loud mouth Hollywood people , they say horrible things about Republican Presidents and they forget that a lot of their fans are Republican. Why anger them ? I watch college basketball and other sports because I like to, I don't wanna be reminded about non sports issues. We can watch the news for that stuff.

U Mad?

No, they can say what they damn well please because they're people. Christ, you want to make it against NFL policy for players to state their opinions? They already tell them they can't wear non-league sponsored headphones (they still do). These people are not owned by their teams and the league and don't do everything for your approval. You don't pay them to play a game and then tell them you own what they can say outside of game minutes.

And yes, maybe whites should just STFU for a little and realize what is really going on. And I'm white! It doesn't offend me because police brutality, first off, isn't a problem that only affects white people and secondly, just because whites aren't targeted and killed by police as often doesn't mean it's not an issue I can care about.