AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Football players have not been shy expressing their opinions regarding the issues of racial and social injustice pertinent in today's society.
Over the course of the summer, many Longhorns have openly used their social media platforms to promote the #BlackLivesMatter movement and demand change in society – including from leaders at the University of Texas. Their stand included issuing a list of demands to UT back in June regarding racial injustice.
That list led to changes from UT's administration that were announced in July. The changes included renaming certain campus buildings, replacing statues and starting outreach programs.
On Monday, KVUE's Emily Giangreco asked Texas Head Coach Tom Herman if the team had anything planned to address racial injustice this season in light of a five-point plan tweeted out by college athletes across the nation, including – once again – a handful of Longhorns players.
Herman told the media that all Big 12 teams would have a helmet sticker and the players on his team had decided to wear a "unified message" on a patch sewn onto their jerseys. Herman said at the time he would not share the message the team had in mind.
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"We have. I know the Big 12 is going to have a sticker on the back of everybody's helmet and has allowed our guys to have some kind of message on their uniform this year," Herman said. "Our leadership council [of UT players] decided that rather than 120 different messages, we were going to have one, unified message that was going to be agreed upon by the team and sewn into a patch on the front of their jersey."
On Saturday, the Longhorns shared what that unified message would be: "We Are One," sewn in black and white onto the top righthand corner of their jerseys.
The message mirrors the statement made recently by the Texas Longhorns volleyball team, who tweeted a video with the same caption.
The Big 12 sticker Herman alluded to will go on the back of the players' helmets. It will read "unity" under the Big 12 logo.
Texas will unveil the jersey patch and helmet sticker when the team takes the field in its season opener against the University of Texas at El Pasp on Saturday. For live updates, highlights and scores throughout the game, follow this live blog.
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