Wonderful post and well said, 69aggie.

A lot of people are just ignorant about how dangerous this virus could be if they got infected. It's like, "Out of sight, out of mind." This disease can be horrible if you're not lucky. Just consider that healthy 20 year old who just had to have a double lung transplant or the healthy soldier that spent 7 weeks on a ventilator and new models say that deaths could escalate dramatically if the virus surges again.

The worst thing about people ignoring the safety guidelines is that if they get infected they can then spread it around to others before they know they are sick. So their cavalier behavior becomes dangerous to others...but they don't consider that...

Trump is now going to start having his rallies again and he wants the places packed like sardines and, even though he continues to minimize the risks of the virus, everyone who attends has to sign a waiver saying they will not sue if they contract Covid-19. Unbelievable...a complete failure of leadership...

Kevin Blue outlines actions that UCD Athletics is taking to increase awareness about and combat systemic racism

https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2020/6/11/general-update-from-director-of-athletics-kevin-blue.aspx

Greg Popovich speaks out...

Kevin Blue's statement regarding the death of George Floyd:

Dear UC Davis Athletics Community,

Over the weekend, I spent some time thinking about George Floyd's horrific death and other recent events that continue to highlight racial inequality in our society.

I will never be able to understand what it is like to experience discrimination because of the color of my skin, but I've tried to be part of the solution working against it. However, over the weekend, I came to the realization that I haven't done enough.

UC Davis Athletics has a history of building "trust, unity, and togetherness" among people from all backgrounds. As an organization, we have tried to acknowledge that racism exists in sports and be an athletics department that works against it. However, over the weekend, I came to the realization that we haven't done enough.

The recent atrocities impacting the African American community are reprehensible. UC Davis Athletics rejects them in the strongest possible terms. We recognize the tremendous emotional and psychological impact that these discriminatory tragedies have created for our African American student-athletes, coaches, and staff. My privilege means that I don't experience this in the same way that you do, but I stand with you in support.

Condemning racism and supporting those who are suffering is important, but real progress will not be made until we pass the test that follows. What will we do next, after the protests stop? Will we take action to create real progress and permanent change? Or will we go back to business as usual? Real change won't occur until we leave the sidelines to get in the game, and put forth the work, struggle, and effort to create a more just and equitable world.

This weekend, I came to the realization that more must be done. I must do more personally. Believing in equality and denouncing racism is not sufficient without taking more action to help make change.

UC Davis Athletics must do more organizationally. We must reflect on our organizational dynamics related to race and inequality with even more scrutiny. We must reject the false notion of "colorblindness" that sometimes characterizes discussions about race in sports and get better at acknowledging the different experiences that people have because of race. And we must double down on meaningful actions that will help create a more equitable college sports world.

I regret that it has taken a series of tragic racist events and nationwide protests to catalyze more energy towards solving a problem that we know has existed for a long time. But the best we can do now is listen to our community, intensify our focus on meaningful action, and move forward together. That is what we're going to do.

-Kevin

https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2020/6/1/general-letter-to-uc-davis-community.aspx

Chancellor May on the killing of George Floyd:

May 28, 2020
Posted by Gary S. May

To the UC Davis Community:

“I can’t breathe.” These were the last words uttered by Eric Garner as he was being murdered on Staten Island in 2014.

“I can’t breathe.” These were among the last words spoken by George Floyd as he suffered the same fate under hauntingly similar circumstances in Minneapolis on Monday evening.

In 2014, I tried to explain the Garner incident to my daughters. Yesterday, I tried to explain the Floyd incident to myself. In both cases, I fell short. Murder captured on video defies explanation.

Needless to say, these tragedies hit my family and me hard. I know it’s touched a deep nerve with many of you as well. You have reached out to express your support, concern, sadness and anger, and I appreciate it. To be honest, it’s been difficult for me to know how to address this because it is so personal.

I lived in Georgia for nearly 30 years, where Ahmaud Arbery was hunted and killed. George Floyd could have been any African American man, including me. Beyond the constant barrage of fear of the negative consequences of birding while black, shopping while black, cooking out while black, exercising while black — it is just exhausting. And I’m tired.

I can’t claim to speak for all African Americans or all people of color. And to ask me or others like me to do so is a burden others don’t have to carry. So I have thought a lot about how America got here, so long ago, and why we haven’t made as much progress as we often claim.

The events of this week also cause me to believe even more strongly, if that’s possible, in building an inclusive environment that recognizes and respects people of all backgrounds and experiences. I remain committed to that and hope you will do what you can to eliminate racism, sexism, and other negative influences on our progression as a nation.

Perhaps higher education can be that positive influence on lives beyond an education. Perhaps here we can create a way forward. Perhaps here we can breathe.

Sincerely,

Gary S. May
Chancellor

https://leadership.ucdavis.edu/news/messages/chancellor-messages/statement-on-george-floyd

Oops..wrong thread...

I wonder if this is one of those early season trips that Les like to take his teams on. He feels strongly about doing trips like this in order for the players to face adversity together and bond with each other. When I spoke with him last year before the season he said that he wants to play SC, SF, St Mary's and Pacific often but they are less willing to schedule us.

I heard on KCRA News that he was fired from KHTK and then resigned from the Kings.

True...I just hope we actually play ball this fall...I'm starved for some good sports!

No surprise there given the number of high quality TE's we've already landed.

That's a nice little tournament similar to last year's trip to Arkansas State. It's not a particularly strong field look at last year's records: Aggies 14-18, IUPUI 7-25, Northeastern 17-16 and Tulane 12-18. It should be a fun trip to New Orleans for the team though...that is if we actually play ball this fall...

Interesting find. Thanks for posting it here!

Wesley Harris will play for CSU Los Angeles after transferring from the Aggies:

Interesting. I'm not surprised to see the bigger athletic programs seeking out Kevin Blue and, with the kind of salaries that those programs can offer, I'm sure he will be checking out the opportunities. He's highly valued here and bigger is definitely not always better so I hope he doesn't get blinded by the huge salaries that the elite programs can offer. I would like to see him stay here for a very long time but I don't think that's likely given his stellar reputation as a visionary AD and his track record of success here.

That's very interesting to know.

I hear you, agalum, about there being people in both counties that simply don't care about their role in preventing the spread of the virus. That's why I think it's necessary to have the kind of strict rules that Yolo County has wisely implemented. It's very disappointing how many people will not practice safety for themselves and others unless they are mandated to do so and you can see that first hand in Sacramento County. If it's out of sight, it's out of mind for a significant portion of the public and, what's even more maddening, is that they profoundly believe they have the right to do as they please...the government and scientists be damned...

There's a reason that Yolo County has very low numbers and I experienced it personally a couple of days ago. I went to a Home Depot that's on Power Inn Road in Sacramento and it was extremely crowded with very few parking spaces available. I was shocked when I went inside. Around 70% of the customers and 50% of the staff were not wearing masks. The store was not monitoring the number of people allowed inside so social distancing was a joke. Most of the customers could have cared less.

Later that day I went to the Home Depot in West Sacramento. There was a line to get in and everyone was staying at least 6 feet apart. Only a couple of people in line were not wearing a mask including the guy in front of me. When he got to the entrance the Home Depot employee, who was monitoring the number of people allowed into the store, told him he could not enter without a mask and showed him a box of them. He took one and started to walk into the store and the employee told him he had to put it on first so he finally did. Inside it was orderly and uncrowded and 6 foot spaces were marked off for checkout lines.

The difference in safety between these two stores was like night and day. The Power Inn store is in Sacramento County and the West Sacramento store is in Yolo County and there are strict safety rules in place in Yolo County. What was discouraging to me is that the majority of people who were in the Sacramento store could have cared less about being safe. In Yolo County, however, you had no choice but to be safe if you wanted to enter the store.

This experience tells me that many, many people really aren't concerned about the virus. I could care less if they were to simply get sick themselves and not spread it to others because of their ignorance and arrogance but it doesn't work that way. Their selfishness and carelessness could make others sick which could possibly even cost someone their life. Believe me, the herd instinct is alive and well, unfortunately.