CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) - University of Illinois football players organized a Black Lives Matter March to raise awareness in the University of Illinois community.
Kendrick Green and Jamal Woods were just two of the football players involved in this Black Lives Matter protest. Green said the team was supposed to have practice, but instead, they planned to march to end racial injustices.
"We decided, you know, let's raise awareness for this, let's bring attention to this," Green said. "So we're not going to practice, we're not going to meetings or practice, we're gonna use our actions to bring awareness to this cause."
The protest was planned by the Fighting Illini football team. They marched from Memorial Stadium to the Champaign County Police Department. The players and other supporters knelt down for five minutes in front of the police station in support of victims of police brutality.
Jamal Woods told WAND News Black Lives Matter means equality for everyone in this country.
"Everybody's equal, I breathe the same air you breathe, I eat the same food as you, we just say, like, no lives matter until Black Lives Matter," Woods said.
Green said the amount of people at the protest made him feel happy because he sees change coming through the actions of this community. "Actions speak louder than words and everybody should be the change that they want to see. So, this is something that is a tiny step, but it's a step forward in the right direction, especially in our community."
The players said there will be more marches put together by different athletic teams at the University of Illinois in the following weeks.
