The Atlantic 10's Commission on Racial Equity, Diversity & Inclusion welcomed one of the conference's esteemed faculty, Stephanie A. Tryce, J.D., in February for a presentation on Celebrating the Black Athlete Activist. Tryce is an Assistant Professor of Sports Marketing at Saint Joseph's University.

The entire hour was to be an open conversation about the history of Black athlete activism, sport as an arena for social change, the recent motivations of Black athlete activists, challenges for corporate sponsors, and the hope for social justice.

Tryce opened the conversation by noting she was "excited to be able to celebrate the Black athlete activist [as] they are often vilified." She then started her presentation with "Black History Month: A Celebration of Black Excellence," which detailed the month's origins. Tryce prefaced the presentation by highlighting that activism through sport is so powerful because "most people have a social identity partially shaped by sports, either as a participant or as a fan."
 
She presented a topic that always comes up when athletes try to mix activism and sport: the separation of sports and politics. Tryce highlighted what many already know: it's not possible to separate the two because society's inequalities, injustices, and oppression are ever-present in if not exacerbated by sport. Though the perpetual linking of sport and politics is quite obvious, many still believe there is or should be separation today. Tryce gave the example of the recent "shut up and dribble" incident between Laura Ingraham and LeBron James, an incident that arguably spurred James to become an even more involved activist.

Tryce continued on with her presentation by showing that sports and politics have been linked together longer than the 50 states have. In the 1750s, there were campaign events centered around and occurring alongside sporting contests to reach voters and increase turnout. Tryce also pointed out the "uniquely American" phrasing of elections as races. Harkening back to the subject of the hour, Tryce explained the fear whites held that Black athletes in the Reconstruction era would use their popularity and influence in political contests and to garner support for their preferred candidates.

One of the more informative portions of the presentation was Tryce explaining the five waves of athlete activism as described by scholar activist Dr. Harry Edwards. The first wave took place in the post-Civil War, Plessy v. Ferguson era where Black athletes sought "legitimacy and recognition in a predominately white supremacist society…as a form of resistance." Notable athletes from this time include Jesse Owens and Jack Johnson. A lesser-known Black athlete activist from this era is Major Taylor, a cyclist who could compete abroad but not at home in the United States.

The second wave, according to Dr. Edwards, was about acquiring political access as sports became more desegregated. Black athletes during this time were "expected to turn the other cheek regarding discrimination and be grateful for what they had," said Tryce. Notable athletes from this era include baseball player Jackie Robinson and boxer Joe Lewis.

The third wave occurred during America's Civil Rights Era, and Black athletes were advocating for socio-political gains such as voting, women's, and civil rights. Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith and John Carlos are athletes from this wave that were infamous for their protests against the mistreatment and lack of civil rights for Black Americans. Curt Flood became an activist for all professional athletes when he fought for free agency in Major League Baseball. He lost his Supreme Court case and was blackballed in the league, but did see free agency and an end to baseball's reserve clause in his lifetime.

The fourth wave didn't happen until the modern day, but why? Tryce and Dr. Edwards attribute the gap to the leaps and bounds in progress made during the Civil Rights era and the fact that Black athletes were making money through earnings, winnings, and endorsements. A forerunning activist of this era was Richard Williams, father and coach of Venus and Serena Williams, who made sure people acknowledged his daughters' greatness and rethink why they would question Venus and Serena's confidence and discount skill. The more modern part of this saw rich and famous Black athletes draw attention to the epidemic of extrajudicial killings of Black people.  Activists and actions of this wave included Colin Kaepernick's on-field protests during the national anthem and the LeBron-era Miami Heat bringing awareness to Trayvon Martin's story.

The fifth and current wave is defined by collective activism. Examples include the University of Missouri football team refusing to practice or play until the university's president was removed. The WNBA has seen individual players opt out of a season or retire entirely to focus on social justice with other players following suit. Maya Moore abandoned playing in the league in order to pursue social justice work, particularly with incarcerated individuals. Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year and two-time All-Conference selection Natasha Cloud and Renee Montgomery followed suit with the former explicitly crediting Moore for blazing the trail.

Tryce then went on to discuss the intersectional activism of Black women in sport. She brought up Althea Gibson, a reluctant activist who simply wanted to play tennis. But Gibson's mere participation as a Black person in tennis and a woman in sport made her one nonetheless. A more modern example is Ibtihaj Muhammad, an Olympic fencer who chose the sport specifically because the uniform allows her to wear her hijab.

Tryce also highlighted the unique plight of Black women being punished or having their accomplishments discounted when they excel in sport. Notable examples include Surya Bonaly, a figure skater who had the athleticism to pull off moves too difficult for others, including a backflip landing on one skate, but was criticized by judges for her "lack of grace." Another is Simone Biles who has four gymnastics moves named after her that only she has landed, but again, judges have devalued the difficulty of her moves because it would be "unfair" and "dangerous" for other competitors to try and execute them.

Another problem that faces Black females in sport is the questioning of their womanhood and femininity. Tryce brings up the example of Caster Semenya, a middle distance runner who has naturally elevated testosterone levels. She competed and excelled in middle distance events until 2019 when World Athletics made a rule that would disqualify her and similar female athletes from competing in said events unless they take hormone suppressors. Semenya is fighting this rule in international court, but it still wreaks havoc on female competitors today. Just recently, two Namibian women, Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi were disqualified from running the 400m at the Tokyo Olympics because their testosterone levels were "too high."

Rule and scoring changes seem to follow Black athletes throughout history. Besides the aforementioned examples, there are also the NCAA's near decade-long ban on dunking that many attribute to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the many NBA rule changes in Wilt Chamberlain's time, and the banning of Serena William's catsuit, even though it served the functional purpose of preventing blood clots.

To round out the discussion, Tryce reminds the attendees that one does not need to be an athlete to be an activist in sport and goes on to point out organizations that advocate for the advancement of Black people in coaching, administration, and playing such as the Black Coaches Association, the Black Women in Sports Foundation, the Fritz Pollard Alliance Foundation, the Advancement of Blacks in Sports, and 12 Inches Over. To further her point, she highlights numerous Black scholar activists who document and research sport and sport management including Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, J.D.; Scott N. Brooks, PhD; N. Jeremi Duru, J.D.; Natasha Brsion, PhD, J.D.; the aforementioned Dr. Harry Edwards; and many more. Tryce does not forget about the Black sports journalists either, mentioning Sam Lacy and his 90 years of service and Jemele Hill among others.
Professor Tryce closed out her presentation by highlighting her personal favorite Black athlete activist, her grandfather Mahlon N. Duckett, and left the audience with this: "…the study of the playing field is an opportunity with which to challenge old structures of equality and bias, and design new frameworks of equity and belonging."

The session ended with questions from attendees. One asked how coaches and administrators can boldly support students of color without giving into the pressure of colleagues who feel white student-athletes are being ignored. Regarding supporting students of color, Tryce said to keep in mind that students of color are not a monolith; they're individuals and should be treated as such. This means one student may need a different kind of support than another, or one student may need support from a different kind of person or voice than another. And to those who feel the needs of white student-athletes are being ignored, Tryce gives the grace that "you can't tell people how to feel. People's feelings are legitimate," but does urge white coaches, administrators, and student-athletes to ask themselves why they feel that way and why they have a problem with whites no longer being centered or the focus of larger conversations. She also asks that they be open to a lot of relearning about our nation, its foundations, and its history. One final question was how can one start to be involved in or make a career out of activism and social justice. Tryce's advice for the student-athletes in attendance was to connect with student-run organizations on campus and across schools, but also that activism can be done from any career field.