For UConn’s Dan Hurley, basketball is a vehicle that creates opportunities.
“I love competing and striving with a group of people that are real close-knit,” Hurley said Wednesday during a conference call with reporters. “When you’re so close-knit, you’re striving for hard-to-reach goals. It just brings together in an amazing way. I got into coaching because (there’s) like no feeling in the world better than impacting the lives of someone else, like being of great service and changing someone’s life. There’s nothing better.”
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But the last week has made Hurley realize he needs to do more as a coach. The deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and the latest, George Floyd on May 25, have brought increased attention to police brutality and systemic racism, with protests happening across the country. Athletes, coaches and schools have been among those posting statements and links to social media in response. In his statement, Hurley wrote, “as a leader, I must use my platform to create change.”
He reiterated that belief on Wednesday.
“If anything, it’s been an eye-opener or an awakening, it’s like serving, for someone like me, in the position I’m in, as a white man, just serving however many players we have on our roster, great is not enough anymore,” Hurley said. “There’s much more required of me in the position I have. It’s my responsibility to lead the UConn men’s basketball program and bring about real change and action. When the social media ends and the protests ends, it’s going to be about action. I understand my responsibility in that and in our communities.”
Hurley grew up in a basketball family. His father, Bob Sr., was a probation officer and the legendary coach at St. Anthony’s in Jersey City, N.J. Dan and his brother, Bobby, played there and then at the collegiate level at Seton Hall and Duke, respectively. Both went on to coaching careers of their own; Bobby is the coach at Arizona State. Their family situation also meant they grew up in a diverse environment.
“When you grow up and your dad’s team is predominantly men of color, they’re your heroes,” Dan Hurley said. “They’re your babysitters when you’re 3 or 4 or 5 years old. They’re babysitting you at summer league games and at night or during practice when you’re trying to run out in the street. Then when you get to high school, and college, guys like Jerry Walker, Terry Dehere and Gordon Winchester are looking out for you like they’re your big brothers. It’s easy for me and Bob, it’s like we’re insulated because of the way we grew up. It doesn’t help us, like we can’t relate to the life experience of a black man. But we were just insulated to it because the majority of our lives, people of color have been our best friends and people that are closest to us. The people we trust the most.”
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Hurley said that as a coach, he always has felt a responsibility not just to win championships and pursue the highest levels of basketball, but also prepare his teams for life after the game. That role is evolving even more following the death of Floyd. Hurley’s players are “hurt,” “angry,” “sad” and “frustrated.” In response, the team has had several conversations about speaking out about these things.
Hurley brought up his team at Rhode Island a few years ago that began having discussions around protesting during the national anthem when Colin Kaepernick took a knee before NFL games to protest police brutality. Hurley’s team decided to interlock arms — players and coaches intermingled — during the anthem, a practice that continues at UConn.
For the Huskies, the next steps are in organizing and planning around the impact the program has in the community. Discussing the way the team holds recruiting meetings, practice meetings, academic support meetings and more, Hurley said this needs to become normal. “What we’re doing in the communities that need us in Connecticut to make change and to help change occur now has to be a part of our daily practice,” Hurley said.
What does that look like and what is UConn discussing in early conversations to make a change? While the details aren’t there yet, it starts with education for Hurley.
“I think education, if there’s a way of being able to help in terms of funding in schools or communities in desperate need of help in terms of the funding of schools,” Hurley said. “Education and awareness in terms of the power of voting, not just national elections but local. Having conversations right now in terms of outreach with community leaders and police officials in how we can improve those relationships. We’re trying to learn, we’re trying to listen and we’re trying to figure out where we can help. Because you know, you’re talking about systems, very complex systems, that have been in place for an incredibly long time. So it’s not an easy solution.”
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While Hurley is having these discussions with his team, the full group is still not back on campus yet because of the pandemic. He said athletic director David Benedict and the athletic department, along with school administrators and state officials, are having conversations, but there is no timetable to return. Akok Akok, James Bouknight and Josh Carlton are on campus, and Hurley said he expected to see them on Wednesday, while social distancing.
While they’re well connected virtually, Hurley admits the meetings would be more emotional if everyone was together. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel the players’ pain.
“They’re guys that have lived in fear in this world,” Hurley said. “There are players that are angry and saddened. I would say that a lot of those emotions now are being directed toward conversations about things that we’ll be able to do at UConn, besides pursue championships together, besides these guys pursuing their education and their degree, beside these guys pursuing their craft at the highest level again. There’s a new focus and a new understanding of what our responsibilities are going to be moving forward. Especially as we get together again.”
(Photo: Williams Paul / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
