Yahoo Finance Jeremy Pruitt: Tennessee wants to wear black jerseys against Kentucky and auction them off for Black Lives Matter
Tennessee’s players are finding ways to help spark social change.
Volunteers coach Jeremy Pruitt told reporters Thursday that the coaching staff has been involved in dialogue with players about how the team can do more to help with racial injustice and inequality. One of the ideas that Tennessee plans to put in place is to wear black against Kentucky on Nov. 7.
“One of the things that we want to do is when we play the Kentucky game is we want to wear black jerseys and when the game’s over with find a way to auction the jerseys and raise money for Black Lives Matter,” Pruitt said. “And that’s just one thing that our kids have talked about. But it’s something that’s going to continue to be stressed within our staff and with [offensive assistant Tee Martin’s] leadership and the guys within our program there’s lots of really good ideas and ways we can improve and use our platform to create change.”
That Nov. 7 game will be four days after the 2020 presidential election. Pruitt also said that the team is working to register everyone on it to vote and will also be bringing speakers in throughout the course of the season on a number of topics.
Pruitt participated in protest
Pruitt was one of many college football coaches across the country who participated in protests and marches in the wake of George Floyd’s homicide on May 25. He also said that Martin, the QB on Tennessee’s 1999 national title team, was leading a cultural committee on the team to help spark those conversations and change.
“We started with really just sitting down with our team and really talking about it. Giving the floor to a lot of our players to share experiences so that everyone within our program would have a better understanding,” Pruitt said. “From a communication standpoint, I think this is the first time in my lifetime that I can ever remember that with all the things that are going on not only with our country but from the entire world, there’s conversation about how to put measures in to create change. I absolutely want to be an advocate of that, support our players and use our platform at Tennessee to help create that.”
Tim Jordan no longer on team
Pruitt also revealed that running back Tim Jordan is no longer a Volunteer. Jordan was arrested in Florida in May on gun and marijuana charges. He ran for 428 yards in 12 games in 2019.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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