San Jose State alumnus and journalist Monte Poole joined a panel that discussed George Floyd, racism, gender inequality and other issues within sports.
The Bay Area Black Journalists Association hosted the event via Zoom on Thursday.
Poole is an Oakland native who has worked for NBC Sports Bay Area for the last eight years and is known for his Golden State Warriors coverage.
He’s hosted the series “Race in America: A Candid Conversation” in the last year and said true equality will be achieved when there is no need for these types of conversations in the U.S.
The show can be viewed online and hosts “raw discussions with athletes, politicians, musicians and influencers on the fight for racial equality in America.”
“This show is something live that people can look at and learn from,” Poole said during the event. “The goal is to educate, get into issues and open the floor.”
He said the idea came after Floyd’s murder, a time where the pandemic was worsening and sporting events were being canceled and postponed.
“There are conversations now that didn’t happen a few years ago,” Poole said. “The main goal is to have conversions that impact the community and the nation.”
Poole said he features a variety of cultural guests to discuss injustices that happen in all cultures.
“It’s not just the Black community. Other races are dealing with this too,” Poole said.
He said athletes’ response to Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict is full of uncertainty as to where it will go from here and what it means.
“Athletes have a place in this because they are public figures and they have a forum,” Poole said.
In the discussion, he brought up how many athletes throughout history have stood up for their beliefs.
To him, athletes including Muhammad Ali and Colin Kaepernick are “on the right side of history” and yet have been vilified for their efforts.
He said sports teams have an opportunity to make themselves heard and that’s precisely what the show primarily covers.
“The key is that athletes don’t get comfortable with their money and that they understand where they come from,” Poole said. “They must stand up for injustices.”
This comes as The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida’s Annual Race and Gender Report Card showed the demographics of players of color, top executives of color and women in executive positions within professional sport organizations.
The report found many organizations lack executive seats at the table for people of color, even in organizations that have majority athletes of color playing professionally.
Kinesiology senior Daniel Fruzzetti said sports allow people who don’t have financial capital to use their athletic abilities to climb the ladder.
“Colin Kaepernick is synonymous with thoughts of activism,” Fruzzetti said in an email. “He has put many activist efforts especially in the African American community.”
San Jose State justice studies lecturer Kevin Lynch was the event’s moderator and highlighted the importance of female athletes.
“Women have played a huge role in taking initiative in many injustices including unequal gender pay,” Lynch said.
He said equal pay within sports has been an issue for decades and to see athletes such as Serena and Venus Williams influence the sports community is huge.
“It’s inspirational to see what women are doing out there and how they are affecting things to make this world better,” Poole said.
He pointed out the importance of education and said reading and learning about culture will help build understanding.
“Racism always comes from a place of ignorance, if someone is committed to being a racist they are irredeemable,” Poole said.
He said sports equality will be achieved when there’s a mix of people of color in higher roles rather than just white men.
“Look at sports 99% of owners are white, so when there is representation all across the border that will be equality,” Poole said. “The more representation you have the more potential there is.”
Fruzzetti said Poole has done an excellent job of discussing important issues in his show and believes change can only happen when people “band together.”
“Today the world is undergoing dramatic changes due to current events,” Fruzzetti said. “Athletes can help point those changes in a positive direction and media outlets like Poole’s show can do the same by bringing fans of sports to be receptive to these ideas.”
