Earlier this year, Soccer Holdings, the parent company of Racing Louisville FC and Louisville City FC, created a Diversity, Opportunity and Inclusion Committee as part of an effort to take part and serve as an agent of change in the community. Stemming from the Black Lives Matter movement, they have committed themselves to proactively supporting addressing the race-related issues our country faces. As part of this, they committed to a monthly year-long speaker series. The first event, held on Thursday 09/24/2020, focused on race in sports.
The panel of the first event comprised Dr. Shaun M. Anderson, Professor Kenneth Shropshire, Dr. Ricky Jones, Monica Negron, and Lou City player George Davis IV. During the discussion, a wide variety of topics were covered such as the platform of an athlete, ownership’s messaging versus their actions, education for young student-athletes, and access to play. On this last item, George provided his insight and experiences to the challenges presented for minorities in US soccer’s “pay to play” model. Taylor Sorrels shared a terrific article on this topic that is worth a read. Given the events unfolding around us, I think it’s important for everyone to become educated and understand the perspectives and struggles of those around us. If you did not watch it live, I would strongly encourage you all to watch the full recording to hear all the valuable insight for yourself.
I am proud of the proactive steps that Louisville City and Racing Louisville have taken to better themselves and their community. They are not only talking the talk but are also walking the walk. I hope that we continue to see them taking these positive strides to help make our city and state a better place.
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