Ahmaud Arbery’s old football team turned angst into love — and a perfect season

Brunswick High’s Chuckobe Hill gets his team ready to take the field prior to their final regular season home game.Sean Pender knew what his football team had to do. It wasn’t going to be fun. It damned sure wasn’t going to be easy. But it had to be done.

With the 2020 season months out, a diverse group of coaches decided this was bigger than football. They set out on a journey — along a path they still walk — to learn about themselves and each other, foster honesty across fault lines and teach their players the importance of standing as one and loving each other like family.where testimony is unfolding in the trial

Pender and his assistants believe they’ve developed players capable of scrapping their way to the December championship game in Atlanta. That, the head coach says, is due in no small part to how they grew following Arbery’s death.“How do I save this?” Pender pondered upon seeing the division in the community seeping into his team.Defensive end Jameer Lang, left, and defensive back Ty’ler Sams rest in the locker room before a game.

Sitting in the “war room” where they normally discuss tactics and watch game film, most of the coaches there that day recalled “having conversations that you don’t have with random people,” asThey were instructed to listen and respect each other’s pain and perspective. Building trust was paramount, and it was OK to be vulnerable.Defensive coordinator Thomas Tedder

Pender, who in 2017 became Brunswick High’s first White head coach since the ‘70s, speaks to journalists. Coaches normally discuss tactics in the "war room," but it hosted tough talks after Arbery's killing.added. “We’re all manly men, so we’re not going to just push a button and start crying.”The talks were so cathartic, so earnest the coaches knew their players needed to have the same discussions.

They began holding Talk About It Tuesday. That first week, the conversations revolved around three questions: How have recent social injustices affected you? How can you make a difference with social injustice? What would you like to see the football program do to promote unity?

We may be doing well at turning hurt into a message of love. But it doesn’t remove the deep wound. Why don’t we get used to being respected as African/americans instead of getting over familiar with killing us effortlessly?

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