KU’s Nick Collison donates $20,000 to NAACP fund; Manning, Townsend make statements
Former University of Kansas basketball forward Nick Collison, who retired as a player after the 2017-18 season following a 15-year career in the NBA, on Friday revealed on Twitter that he’s donated $20,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
Collison, 39, who graduated from KU in 2003, announced reasons behind the donation on the social media platform.
“Today I donated $20,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in the Memory of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many other people whose lives weren’t valued because of the color of their skin. There is a burden carried by men and women of color in our country that I will never feel,” Collison wrote to begin a four-part statement on Twitter.
Floyd, 46, died on Monday after former Minneapolis, Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, pinned Floyd to the ground by pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck. Chauvin on Friday was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Arbery, 25,, was shot and killed on Feb. 23 while jogging in Glynn County, Georgia. On May 9, a white father and son — Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34 — were arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault against Arbery, who is black. Another man, William Bryan, a witness who filmed the incident, was arrested on May 21 and charged with felony murder and criminal attempt to create false imprisonment. Bryan is white.
“To be out in the world every day, having to worry about whether people see you as a threat would be exhausting. To constantly have to prove that your presence is justified would be infuriating,” Collison wrote on Twitter.
“This centuries-old, systemic racism we have in our country will continue to be with us if there are only people of color losing their voices pleading with the rest of us to recognize these problems. These problems are all of our problems.
“If you love your country then you must love your fellow Americans that are screaming out in pain,” Collison added. “Have conversations about these issues. Talk to your kids about issues of race. Have the empathy and the humanity to listen to these problems even if they don’t affect you.
“At the very least stop with the questioning, the defending, the what about-isms. I am so angry and disgusted with so much of what I have seen. I’m worried about our future. I have been inactive for too long. This is what I can do today. Join me and do what you can do today,” Collison concluded.
When contacted by The Star on Friday night, Collison said he had no further comment.
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. according to its Website, “is America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, LDF seeks structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve racial justice in a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all Americans. LDF also defends the gains and protections won over the past 75 years of civil rights struggle and works to improve the quality and diversity of judicial and executive appointments.”
Collison, who lives in Leawood, Kansas, had his jersey No. 4 retired by the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 20, 2019. His KU jersey No. 4 was hung in the Allen Fieldhouse rafters on Nov. 25, 2003. In January of 2019, he was hired by the Thunder to a post-basketball transition position that general manager Sam Presti created for Collison. It included working with Presti and also becoming involved in community outreach.
Danny Manning issues statement
Former KU forward and former assistant coach Danny Manning issued a statement on Saturday on Twitter.
Manning, who recently was fired as Wake Forest head coach after six seasons in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, wrote: “I have been thinking about the George Floyd situation and many similar situations in our country. In my playing and coaching career, I have been blessed and fortunate to compete, coach and work towards a common goal with many different people of all races and genders.
“I have respected and loved them all. I have long standing relationships with many of those people. My players and my former teammates have had many peaceful talks sharing their feelings, being transparent and educational about living in today’s society. I always felt like these talks assisted us in creating the change we need within our world.
“We need more peaceful, transparent and educational conversations so we can eliminate these tragedies. We can no longer tolerate this behavior. I feel for the many families that have lost loved ones and we need to come together as one! We can’t keep talking about coming together when there is a tragedy. We must have a better sense of empathy. We must come together in peace and love.”
Townsend issues Twitter statement
KU assistant coach Kurtis Townsend issued a statement Saturday on Twitter: He prefaced his comment with the line: “My thoughts after the incident in Central Park and the recent killing in Minneapolis:”
“Our country is hurting and I’m worried about how African Americans have been treated for years. George Floyd’s murder was senseless and should’ve never happened. We haven’t learned from our past. It starts at home (where) hatred and racism are learned.
“How many more people need to die? I will continue to pray for peace. I worry for my son who served our country in the Navy but knows he is not immune to what’s going on. I will continue to pray for our athletes in these times. It starts with leadership. I’ll end with 1 John 3:18: Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”
Big 12 board makes statement
The Big 12 board of directors released a statement on Friday in the response to the death of Floyd and ensuing protests across the country.
“As a conference representing thousands of students, faculty, and staff from all walks of life, we are committed to fostering a culture of inclusivity and respect in our campus communities. Acts of racism and violence, no matter their origin or target, contradict this core commitment we share within the Big 12 Conference. Recent incidents of racial violence underscore the need for us and for all Americans to join together in addressing matters of racism and injustice in a united, meaningful way,” the statement read.
It was signed by 10 presidents and chancellors in the league, including KU’s Douglas Girod, and Kansas State’s Richard B. Myers.
This story was originally published May 30, 2020 at 4:40 PM with the headline "KU’s Nick Collison donates $20,000 to NAACP fund; Manning, Townsend make statements."
