Nigel Hayes takes a stand against racism

‘I would say the biggest problem in our country is racism and systems of unfair treatment to minorities, especially blacks ‘

There’s a lot to say about Nigel Hayes. The Ohio native has had a stellar basketball career with the Badgers, including multiple trips to the Final Four. He is a serious prospect of the NBA draft and plans on continuing his growth into his season as a senior at UW. However, more than just basketball, Nigel has come under serious criticism for his passionate views regarding race.

Nigel has been using social media as a foundation for his expression, but he has been met with both encouragement and hate. I knew there was a problem, but Nigel helped me to realize just how much this problem is affecting the lives of every American. I got the chance to talk to Nigel and ask him a few questions about his important message.

You’re an athlete with a tremendous amount of talent and spotlight. It would be easy to pretend everything is OK. Why did you think it was so important to speak out? 

It’s important to speak out because for one, I’m a human being. As a human being, you have to be able to stand up and speak out for injustices that occur in the world. We live in a society currently where a lot of that has been going on. I’m no different than a regular person, except my voice seems to fall on more ears.

Many athletes have been speaking out in different ways for what they believe is right. It looks like you’ve used Twitter as your main tool to reach people. Is there any significance behind that? 

Twitter is a treat social media platform to use. In this Internet age and viral age, one tweet can be seen by millions of people. In my case, 44 tweets. Also Twitter is a home of a million trolls and tough guys who are either ignorant or stuck in their ways. That’s quickly exposed and the world sees how people still think and why there needs to be a change.

As with every social issue, people are responding both negatively and positively to the stance you’re taking. Why do you think your opinion is so controversial in someone else’s eyes?

It’s controversial, because people are racist. Plain and simple. My tweets and stance were advocating for black equality and fair treatment. That stance to some people, who are racist or naive to the plight of black people in this country, can be “controversial”, if you will.

You recently tweeted about the exploitation of college athlete saying “To White America, black athletes should only entertain. Once they speak on social issues, they’ve gone too far” Unfortunately, we’ve seen this more and more in media as college and pro athletes are taking stands to get people talking. What would you like to say to the people who think you should only entertain? 

I would say to those people athletes and entertainers are humans and people too. Taking offense to people who are in the spotlight or high profile speaking on issues is saying they shouldn’t care about “reality”, just focus on making us happy.  That in itself is a major problem. Some of the biggest acts of change have been spearheaded by athletes; for example, my sports role model Muhammad Ali.

What is the biggest problem in our country? 

I would say the biggest problem in our country is racism and systems of unfair treatment to minorities, especially blacks.

What could you offer as some sort of solution to the issues regarding race and exploitation of college athletes in this country? 

Solutions would be fixing the system. Racism is a system. College athlete exploitation is a system. The system benefits the creators and workers of it, while the expendable parts in the system (blacks and athletes) do the dirty work to maintain it.

What inspired you to really speak out? 

Knowing Muhammad Ali would do the same. As Drake says in a song, ‘I might be here as a vessel to teach people a lesson.’ Perhaps my purpose is to use my sports platform to evoke change in the world.

Have any of the current athletes that have spoke about social issues struck a chord with you? If so, how would you respond to people being so against these actions? 

Just tell the athletes when you receive such backlash for something, you know you’re doing the right thing. With righteousness in your corner, no need to worry about negativity.

Nigel’s message is not unlike those we’ve seen of other athletes recently. With nearly 70,000 Twitter followers, Nigel is spreading this important message every single day with every single tweet. His refusal to compromise, passion, and overwhelming intelligence about the topic is admirable and encouraging to others to take a stand. As he uses Muhammad Ali as a role model, one day other children will no doubt grow up seeing him as one. Nigel Hayes refuses to be diluted to an entertaining basketball robot. Rather, he’s another intelligent and strong-willed person that’s just trying to make a difference in a world that’s become so negative.

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