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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — The University of Alabama football team released an emotional video on Thursday speaking out against racism and ending with the message that “all lives can’t matter until Black lives matter.”
Head Coach Nick Saban and many prominent players, both Black and white, appear in the video that was written by Alabama left tackle Alex Leatherwood.
The video begins with the players saying, “We are a team, Black, white, brown. Together, we are a family. We are brothers who represent ourselves, our families, our hometowns, our university and our country.”
The players and coach speak of the importance of listening to understand another person’s perspective.
“In this moment in history, we can’t be silent. We must speak up for our brothers and sisters, for our sons and daughters,” Saban says in the video. “Until I listen with an open heart and mind, I can’t understand his experience and his pain.”
The video ends with the message, “all lives can’t matter until Black lives matter.”’
The video was released Thursday afternoon on the team’s social media accounts and was quickly shared thousands of times. It drew wide praise and some criticism online from commenters.
Some commenters offered to “happily take” season tickets from anyone who was offended by the video.
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