At exactly 5:00 p.m. EST Friday evening, Duke men's basketball's Twitter page posted a video of head coach Mike Krzyzewski addressing some of the issues the United States faces today.
His opening remark consisted of three words: Black Lives Matter.
“Black Lives Matter.... We should be saying it every day," Krzyzewski's statement began. "It’s not political. This is not a political statement. It’s a human rights statement. It’s a fairness statement."
The full video of the statement can be found below.
Krzyzewski then segued into explicitly addressing systemic racism and listing several of the consequences that systematic racism has led to for the Black community. Among the consequences he noted were “criminal justice–the killings that we have seen and we haven’t seen, the denial of economic opportunities for our Black community, educational opportunities, healthcare.”
The former United States Army officer went on to insist that the only way we can solve systemic racism is by first acknowledging that it is a problem.
"No problem is solved unless you acknowledge the problem," Krzyzewski said. "Acknowledge it. If you acknowledge it, you have the duty to solve it. We as a country have the duty to solve this problem."
Krzyzewski closed his speech with a piece of a cadet prayer from his days at West Point.
“Help me choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong," Krzyzewski said. “We as a country have chosen the easier wrong for four centuries. It is time to choose the harder right. It is time to end systemic racism and social injustice. It’s time. Black Lives Matter.”
Krzyzewski previously released a written statement June 1, a week following the death of George Floyd.
Four days after Krzyzewski's most recent statement, the Duke women's basketball Twitter page posted a video of head coach Joanne P. McCallie, who had a similar message.
"Black Lives Matter," McCallie began. "As a white woman, I feel inadequate and cannot perfectly understand. I, and we, can grow, learn, advocate and make serious change to fight back against system racism, police brutality and getting justice served. Breonna Taylor—all she did was go to bed. George Floyd—murdered in broad daylight."
McCallie's full statement can be found below.
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Jake Piazza is a Trinity senior and was sports editor of The Chronicle's 117th volume.