Hogs United
We discuss football, soccer, and a new program for racial justice
Greetings! Welcome to a belated edition of Pig Tales! I apologize for getting this one out a little later than usual, but it’s been a hectic week in my neck of the woods, so you’ll have to forgive me. If you haven’t done so already, please take a moment to subscribe so you never miss an update:
Last week I said we’d be doing something a little different by taking a deeper dive into one particular topic, and while that won’t necessarily be the norm once the season starts, I’m going to be doing it again here shortly. There’s some short news items to cover though, so let’s do those first!
Oh Captain, My Captain
This week football announced the four captains for the 2020 season. Quarterback Feleipe Franks, running back Rakeem Boyd, linebacker Grant Morgan, and defensive tackle Jonathan Marshall will serve as the leaders of the team in Sam Pittman’s inaugural season. All four captains are seniors, so we’ll only have their leadership for one more year. When you consider what they’ve been through though, they’ve got to be four of the best prepared captains in the conference. All have faced adversity and overcome it, and given the adversity that COVID presents, I think it’s safe to say we’re in good hands.
Franks will have overcome his horrific injury and the loss of his starting position at Florida by the time he takes the field. Viewers of Last Chance U will be familiar with Rakeem Boyd’s journey from Texas A&M to Independence Community College after some academic struggles. After excelling at Independence, he earned a scholarship at Arkansas, where he’s become arguably the most important player for the offense. Marshall and Morgan have both been at Arkansas since 2016, and by the time the season starts, they will have played under three different head coaches in three different defensive schemes.
Hopefully the four inspire the rest of the team to handle the challenges of an SEC only season during a global pandemic. I believe that they can and will.
Futbol is Number 1
Longtime readers of my work will know that The Beautiful Game is a favorite sport of mine, so if you thought we would make it through the entirety of Pig Tales’ existence without discussing Razorback Soccer, you would be mistaken. Soccer starts tomorrow afternoon, and incidentally, they’re coming into the season with quite a bit of fanfare! The SEC coaches voted Arkansas as preseason favorites to win the title, after the team clinched its first title last year.
The team also boasts five players on the SEC watch list for awards season: forwards Parker Goins and Anna Podojil, midfielder Taylor Malham, and defenders Bryanna Hunter and Haley VanFossen. I watched a lot of Razorback Soccer last year, and I simply can’t encourage you enough to check this team out. They’re a high pressing, high intensity team, and they score lots of goals. Goins and Podojil in particular can do some magic with the ball at their feet.
As I said before, the team will open tomorrow afternoon, Saturday September 19th at 3pm. The game is televised on the SEC Network, so be sure to catch them in action as they face LSU.
Hogs United Against Racism
Amid the chaos of the pandemic, the economic turmoil, and the world being on fire, a movement has been building to a fever pitch in this country— one calling for racial justice and equality. While it’s fallen out of vogue for the media to cover, protests and marches for racial justice have continued well past the explosion of demonstrations after the murder of George Floyd. While some changes have occurred, there’s still much work to do, and this week, the Razorback Athletic program has announced a program to combat injustice and inequality.
“Hogs United” was announced on Wednesday as a rebranded, restructured version of the already existing diversity and inclusion program. I think it’s a positive first step, but before we dive into what the program is and what it entails, I think some context is necessary.
I don’t necessarily want this newsletter to become a political entity— at least as its primary purpose. At the end of the day, I just want to write about the Hogs. But there are times when it becomes impossible to discuss sports in a vacuum. Sports are inherently political. From Jesse Owens beating the Aryan champions in Nazi Germany, to Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, to Muhammad Ali protesting the Vietnam war, sports are simply inseparable from politics.
However, I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. As divided as this country seems, sports remain a constant, uniting love. There are many people with whom I disagree in the state of Arkansas, but at the end of the day, we all cheer for the Razorbacks. That’s why I hope the stance of Hogs United can serve to make us just that— Hogs United. But what does that mean, and why is it necessary?
During the heaviest time of protest right after George Floyd’s death, I was horrified to discover a hashtag making the rounds on Twitter. #BlackatUARK was trending in Arkansas, and upon reading its contents, I was shocked, humiliated, and furious. I could not believe the experiences that were being shared by students, staff, and yes, student-athletes.
I attended the University of Arkansas, and was all too happy to do so. I had a wonderful time, made lifelong friends, and of course, got to consume more than my fair share of Razorback Athletics. However, I came to learn while reading the #BlackatUARK topic that many of my peers didn’t share similar experiences. After reading countless stories of discriminatory admissions practices, profiling by security officials, and patronizing professors, it became clear to me that my experience as a white man was completely different from my peers of color. I like to think that I have a pretty good understanding of racial injustice, which is why reading so many of these stories was so disheartening. Despite my understanding that racism is wrong, and despite my friendship with people of color, and despite my attempts to make as diverse of an environment as possible, there were some things that I just didn’t see because I’m not black. As involved as I am with causes of racial justice and equality, I still can’t see every kind of discrimination, because I rarely if ever face it personally.
I think that’s the biggest hold up with some people when it comes to supporting the protests that continue to this day. People don’t witness the discrimination personally, and so they’re largely unaware of it. When these oppressed minorities draw our attention to this discrimination, it feels personal— “I’m not racist! I’m not discriminating against people! What did I do?” But that’s not what it’s about. It’s about the systems in place that grant inherent privilege to people of certain class.
That’s why I was so excited to read about Hogs United. This is the University admitting that there are issues that need to be addressed urgently, and that those issues may not be evident to those of us from certain backgrounds if we’re not actively seeking them out. That doesn’t put you specifically at fault. It’s the system, and Hogs United serves to overhaul the system to eliminate these instances of discrimination.
It’s necessary for Hogs United to exist. Hogs United claims three core pillars: Education, Advocacy, and Action. Education is self-explanatory. As discussed above, the privileged do not have to be actively racist to reinforce systems of racism. You may not even be aware of it! Creating an environment of education will ensure that the University knows what it clearly hasn’t in the past.
Advocacy is the utilization of that education. By acknowledging Pride months, History months, and other Heritage Celebrations, the University can create an environment of inclusion while celebrating the diversity that is so necessary to success.
Action is the application of all of the above. The University has stated that this will include voter registration and education, and for the first time ever, Bud Walton Arena will serve as a voting center. Voting is far from the only method of direct action, but in a democratic republic, it’s the most readily apparent vehicle. How can representation at high levels occur if the underrepresented can’t participate?
I need to stress that Hogs United is only a first step. There’s not a silver bullet to deal with racism, as the issues are structural, and they run very, very deep in this country. What I do hope to achieve with this week’s newsletter though is to shine light on an incredibly important cause from a position of privilege. I get to “just watch sports with no politics,” because I’m not constantly faced with the discrimination that some experience. Black students, staff, student athletes, and administrators at Arkansas don’t. I don’t think you can have it both ways. You have to advocate for the team all of the other days of the week, and not just when they suit up on Saturday.
That’s why this fall, when you hear the phrase “Black Lives Matter,” or see demonstrations by players, or witness programs like Hogs United, I want you to consider that it isn’t a personal attack on you. Rather, it’s a diagnosis of systemic issues that are put in place to discourage, discount, and discriminate against a whole class of people. Of course all life matters, but right now black ones are actively being oppressed, and we need to take care of them and destroy the mantle of racism. Imagine going to a breast cancer support group and yelling that all cancer matters. Yes, it does, but that’s not the group’s focus. So it is with Black Lives Matter and Hogs United.
This really shouldn’t be political. Equality shouldn’t be an issue to be debated, but that’s where we are right now, and the University (and I guess Pig Tales?) is taking its side— the right side. If you’re like me, Razorback sports bring you more joy than just about anything else in the world— otherwise why would you keep watching them lose?! It’s beyond time to make sure that the joy (and I suppose misery) is shared by everyone. It’s beyond time for the University to be welcoming to everyone. It’s beyond time for Black Lives to Matter.
Thank you so much for reading this edition of Pig Tales. We’ve got real life, actual Arkansas football coming soon! How are you feeling ahead of the year? What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below and let me know, or shoot me a message on twitter or leave a comment on our Facebook page. Be sure to like that page as well so you can stay up to date if the newsletter goes to your spam (be sure to mark us as “not spam!”).
Thanks again. This newsletter has been a welcome creative outlet for me during these difficult times. I’m glad to have you along for the ride. Stay safe, stay healthy, and go Hogs!