Lions Driving the Discussion

Penn State's C.J. Thorpe and Lamont Wade join BTN conversation on racial inequality.

For C.J. Thorpe, this moment is personal.

The Penn State offensive lineman, and two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, spoke at a State College demonstration May 31, one of the early protests across the country that followed George Floyd's death. Thorpe spoke spontaneously, saying, "you're understanding what it's like to be black in America." The website Lions247 captured the speech on video.

On Monday, Thorpe and teammate Lamont Wade joined the Big Ten Network's Rick Pizzo for a conversation about racial inequality. In the segment, Thorpe and Wade discussed their roles in social activism and how football fans can help be part of the process.

"That speech was probably a drop of the total passion that I have for this subject," said Thorpe, who is majoring in philosophy. "This is also one of my degrees, one of my areas of study. It's one of my areas of study because I’ve been directly affected by it. I've felt the pain of the racial inequalities in America. I am directly affected by that."

Several Penn State players attended a subsequent demonstration in State College on Sunday before many were scheduled to report for pre-workout quarantine. Their attendance, and voices, joined a growing movement among college athletes to drive discussion and change.

During the BTN interview, Thorpe said that he hoped fans would listen to what the players said off the field in addition to cheering them on it.

"We are giving everything we've got," Thorpe said to Pizzo. "We are putting our lives on the line, our bodies on the line, our futures on the line to entertain someone else? Someone else who doesn't care about the things that we stand for, that actively protests against the things that we stand for, that actively tries to diminish the things we are saying that are about us?"

Thorpe and Wade also discussed the impact of playing for James Franklin, one of four black head coaches in the Big Ten. Thorpe, who went to Pittsburgh Central Catholic, said that playing for Franklin was a "big reason he chose Penn State."

"It's something beautiful to see, someone not only get into the space where they have this power, where they're doing something that not many other black men have been able to do, but also doing it at the highest level," Thorpe said.

Added Wade, "Nobody can deny his success, honestly, and that's one of the best things about it."

Watch the full interview for more perspective from Thorpe and Wade.

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