South Carolina Football Taking Monday Off for Demonstration

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina coach Will Muschamp said his team will forgo football activities on Monday and participate in a campus demonstration against racial injustice after the shooting of Jacob Blake by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Muschamp said Saturday that team leaders approached him about the effort after Blake, who is Black, was shot seven times in the back after walking away from police, leaving him paralyzed.

“We want to make a statement on our campus,” Muschamp said.

Muschamp and the Gamecocks marched from the Governor’s Mansion to the Statehouse in June following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.

Muschamp said his team wanted to show its support for racial equality and against police brutality.

“The Jacob Blake situation in Wisconsin is a horrific situation,” Muschamp said. “A team demonstration supporting racial equality and being totally against police brutality, our leadership group came to me on that.”

Muschamp said he hopes other South Carolina athletes might join the football team’s effort.