When Katy cornerback Bobby Taylor first saw the video of police shooting Jacob Blake in the back seven times in Kenosha, Wis., it made him angry.
When he saw videos of 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse walking through the same streets with a long gun, shooting protestors and then walking by police without being arrested, he was infuriated.
“That was the breaking point for me,” Taylor said. “I felt like I had to do something about it any way I can.”
Taylor, a blue-chip prospect with offers from the nation’s top programs, decided to use the biggest platform he has: football. To bring attention to racial injustice, Taylor and fellow blue-chip cornerback Hunter Washington announced they will sit out of Katy’s scrimmage and first regular season game. Katy faces Klein Collins in a scrimmage on Sept. 17 and opens the season against Clear Springs on Sept. 25.
“I just want to raise awareness,” Taylor said. “I want people to wake up and see this isn’t a joke...I just want people to know that people are being treated differently. People have got to accept that.”
Their decision is the culmination of rising unrest in America that has intensified over the past several months. The police killings of George Floyd in Minnesota and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky – along with the killing of jogger Ahmaud Arbery by vigilantes – led to nationwide protests about racism and police violence.
In the days after the Wisconsin shooting, the NBA shut down for two days in an unprecedented wildcat strike during the playoffs. The NHL and MLB followed suit. Multiple college football programs across the country held practice walkouts, including Texas, Baylor and Texas Tech.
Black students make up 12.6 percent of Texas public schools and far less of most colleges. However, Black men are far better represented on the football field. Black athletes across the state of Texas are using their platforms to speak out about issues facing their communities.
In East Texas, players at 3A Queen City High School were inspired by the actions of the other leagues. The town of fewer than 1,500 residents located 10 minutes west of the Arkansas border had lost 26 consecutive games heading into the season opener against Linden-Kildare. Still, some had more than football on their mind.
During the national anthem, several athletes – black and white – decided to take a knee. Others who stood supported their teammates by putting a hand on the shoulder of their kneeling teammates. But inside the program, everyone was on the same page.
“The ones who kneel, they’re not trying to make the others feel bad for not. The ones who stood, they’re not trying to make the others feel bad for kneeling,” Queen City coach Eric Droddy said. “They’re in it together.”