After Iowa placed longtime strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle on administrative leave Saturday, amid accusations of "racial disparities" from former Hawkeyes football players over the past few days, four-year tight end George Kittle took to Twitter stood in solidarity with ex-teammates and other individuals. In a message typed on the iPhone notes app Saturday attached to his tweet, he noted how longtime head coach Kirk Ferentz and company handle this situation would be a "defining moment" for the Iowa football program.
"I write to offer my support and affirmation to my former teammates and other individuals who played football at the University of Iowa," Kittle said. "Recently they have shared their stories of mistreatment and racism that they experienced while on the Iowa football team. I may not have directly walked in their shoes, but I tied my cleats next to them for 5 years. Like most things in life, it was the relationships with my teammates that made Iowa Football so special to me. The lessons I learned from them as well as Coach Ferentz and Coach LaVar Woods will stay with me throughout my life. My heart aches for my Iowa teammates, my brothers, and my friends. I want them to know that I stand with them, support them, and applaud them for having the courage to speak up and start this difficult conversation. A conversation that I will be listening to and I hope all others listen to as well.
"Over the past week we have seen many different faces of this kind of mistreatment of Blacks in America. Certainly the realm of college athletics has its own stories to tell on racism and the mistreatment of Black athletes. I stand with them and support them as I do others who have faced similar treatment in other settings. We are on the difficult road to hearing these painful stories, learning more, understanding more, and working to make change in order to create a better country in which Blacks are treated fairly, equally, and without oppression or discrimination. I am listening and am available for any of my former teammates or others who have played at Iowa who wish to share their stories with me."
Prior to being selected by the San Francisco 49ers with the No. 146 overall pick in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft, Kittle played for the Hawkeyes from 2013-16. Overlapping with Kittle, former Hawkeyes offensive lineman (2015-17) and current Chicago Bears starter James Daniels was one prominent player to speak out about the program's "racial disparities."
"This is a defining moment for the Hawkeye football program," Ferentz said in a 2:21 video statement published Saturday on the Iowa football team's official Twitter account. "I appreciate the former players' candor and have been reaching out to many of them individually to hear more about their experiences in our program. I am planning on talking to all of them in the coming days. This is a process that will take some time, but change begins by listening first.
"Many of the discussions have centered around our strength and conditioning program and coach Chris Doyle. I have spoken with him about the allegations posted on social media. They are troubling and have created a lasting impact on those players. Therefore, coach Doyle has been placed on administrative leave immediately while there is an independent review. He and I agree that all parties will have their voices heard and then a decision about how to move forward will be made."
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