When Geoff Collins and Kerry Dixon were coaching together at Florida just a few years ago, they both welcomed new additions to their families. For Dixon, it was his son. For Collins, it was his daughter. From birth, the two children were fast friends, but in the wake of nationwide protests that have erupted across the country in light of the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, the two small children serve as an example of what the country is striving to achieve.
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“They don’t know racism. They don’t know hate,” Collins said. “All they know is, ‘That’s my friend. That’s my buddy. I love them.'”
As protests began Friday in Atlanta and lasted throughout the weekend and into this week, Collins and Dixon shared photos with one another of their kids playing together the past few years. One photo was of the two of them somewhere between 6 and 8 months old. They both were drinking out of their milk bottles, side by side. Another photo was of the two happily looking out of a window during the third birthday party for Collins’ daughter, Astrid, just last year. Collins and Dixon clung to the photos as they worked to make sure the near 100 student-athletes on their football roster at Georgia Tech were safe and that they were heard, especially the majority of black players on the roster.
“It’s heart-wrenching that the world can’t be the way we’ve got it: Our coaching staff, our families, the way they interact with our players, white, black, it’s beautiful. The way they interact with each other, it’s beautiful,” Collins said. “You see those things, and you long for the day when that’s just the norm and that’s the case for everybody in society and they can have that level of love and care and hope and safety.”
There have been many Zoom calls among the players, coaches and staff members throughout the past seven days. Those calls have become the norm during the midst of a pandemic, but like many college football programs around the country, the calls were about anything but football throughout the past week. These 18- to 22-year-old men needed support. They needed an avenue to have constructive and vulnerable conversations about race, injustice, fear and pain. Some needed to speak, others needed to listen, but all needed comfort and reassurance that their coaching staff was behind them.
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Collins said he tried to keep each Zoom call capped at about 25 players. On a Zoom call, there is a screen setting that allows you to see everyone on one screen. With about 25 players per call, Collins wouldn’t need to switch pages to see everyone. Even though they can’t physically be together yet, Collins wanted to look into their eyes. He said he was always the first to open up when these conversations began, saying that he revealed things about himself to help players know this was a free space and a safe place. Collins said these calls have been beneficial to everyone, coaches and players alike.
For some, these conversations showed them that they are not alone. For others, the calls touched their hearts.
“It’s been really amazing hearing the guys share and see the impact that it has on guys who are feeling the same way but didn’t know other people were feeling the same way,” Collins said, “or there are some guys who are on those calls that don’t experience it. They hear those things, and their hearts go out to (their teammates), and they want to be a part of the change. … We have a place where we can talk about it. We can be transparent, and we can be committed to being part of the change to make this community and make this world a better place.”
Collins explained he has leaned on his coaching staff in recent days to give him counsel on how to lead during this time. He also has had Derrick Moore, Georgia Tech’s character development coach, on every call. Collins has reached out to players for guidance, too. When the protests began in Atlanta, he told players, “I’m not going to be perfect. I need help, and I need guidance from you, too,” and that created an open dialogue.
In fact, prior to Collins hopping on a Zoom call with local media Tuesday afternoon, he had a few players reach out. They wanted to pass on a message to the media, that the issues the country is facing are humanity issues.
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“If you see the things that are going on in the world and you see the things that happened with George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, there’s gotta be a humanity piece that goes on,” Collins said. “You see that, and as a human, you understand that those actions are wrong, and you want to be a part of the change.
“I think we have a lot of young men in this program that want to do that and that want to be a part of that change and the healing process. I told them that I am committed to that, and it’s not just the social media posts. It’s not just an interview. It’s not just a press conference. It’s our daily walk that we are going to have so that whenever we are back together, whenever we are able to be out in the community, what are we going to do to truly affect social change?”
Stories have been shared the past few days. Collins received a call from one of his assistant coaches during the weekend. They discussed how he was tackling explaining what was going on in Atlanta and across the country to his 6-year-old son. A black player shared with Collins that one night this weekend he was running low on food. He was hungry so he was going to run to the grocery store to find something to eat, but night had already fallen. Fearful of venturing out to the grocery store for food at night, he instead scrounged up anything he could find and stayed home.
“You can sense and you can feel pain, anger, fear, all of those things with a bunch of strong black men who are such unbelievable individuals,” Collins said. “They are such great young men that have mothers and fathers and grandparents and brothers and sisters that love them so dearly, and your heart goes out because you want them to have the same experience and the same chance and the same safety that my 4-year-old daughter does.”
Collins said he and his staff are committed to continuing these conversations well beyond the scope of what the next week, month or year will bring. As the week continues, he said Georgia Tech is making a point to get in touch with every parent of every player. Starting Monday night with the parents of the defensive linemen, Collins said he will keep them up to date on the program’s plan to reopen and to encourage them and their sons through the fight against racial injustice.
“The big thing is to continue the conversation,” Collins said. “Let’s keep talking about it, keep listening to each other, keep hearing each other. I think that is very important, and we are committed to making a change.
“I think a big thing, too, is lending a voice to this. Last week it was really on my heart to speak out and try to make sure that our players, our community know that I am committed to helping make a change. I am navigating that with the help of the coaching staff, navigating that with the help of our leadership and our players.”
(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)