Big East Basketball Teams to Wear Black Lives Matter Patches on Uniforms During 2020-21 Season

Men's and women's basketball teams in the Big East have agreed to wear patches on their uniforms during the 2020-21 season.

All men's and women's Big East basketball programs have unanimously agreed to wear Black Lives Matter (BLM) patches on uniforms throughout the 2020-21 season, the conference announced Wednesday. 

"For all of us in the extended BIG EAST family, 'Black Lives Matter' is not a political organization or ideology, but a fact," the conference's statement read. "For us, BLM means that the safety, dignity and well‐being of all Black people are non‐negotiable rights and that intolerance and repression because of skin color cannot be tolerated in our world."

The patch initiative was first suggested to the Big East by Coaches for Action, a coalition of 21 ethnic minority Big East men’s basketball assistant coaches formed to "help raise awareness in the fight against racism and to develop a sustainable action plan to dismantle prejudice, discrimination and oppression in Black, Brown, Indigenous and minoritized communities." Commissioner Val Ackerman expressed her support of the coalition on Wednesday, stating, "We applaud the initiative and leadership of CFA and their efforts to shine a light on the challenges that our Black student-athletes, coaches and administrators face on a daily basis." 

In addition, the Big East recently announced a conference-wide partnership with RISE, which will provide educational tools to allow athletes and administrators to "create positive change on matters of social justice and racial equality." 

The Big East's BLM patch is a continuation of the movement among the world and sports communities in fighting for racial equality. The NBA has been a leading voice in promoting Black Lives Matter, as the phrase has been prominent on its courts and players have included social justice messages on their jerseys. 

All fall Big East sports have been canceled with hopes to play in the spring.