State of the Panthers

Athletics

State of the Panthers - June 2020

June 19, 2020
 
Panther Family,
 
"If one of us feels uncomfortable, then all of us should feel uncomfortable, especially those in leadership roles."
 
In full disclosure, part of this is from a letter I sent our staff several weeks ago with some new thoughts as we face unprecedented times. My daily hope is that we all identify ways to create positive change in Atlanta and within the Georgia State community as we battle the Coronavirus and face the social unrest head on.
 
I grew up in a rural area in South Carolina where most looked like me. Sports gave me an opportunity to be teammates with others who didn't look like me, but I look back and realize we didn't really know each other outside of school and the field or courts. One of my greatest college gifts was living in a dorm with my teammates and other student-athletes and the many conversations playing cards. An awesome GSU experience for me has been watching Khai Anderson play on our football team the past few years because his dad, Barry, was a college teammate and friend.
 
I never knew the fear of police driving through my neighborhood like some of my teammates. My dad never had a conversation with me about how to handle being pulled over by a police officer. I've never been cheered as an athlete, yet feared in social settings. I've never had a gun pulled on me or had an experience with a police officer as he had his hand on one. I've never known the feeling of being judged guilty before the facts sorted themselves out by anyone. I don't know fear for my wife or kids as they leave our house. I cannot imagine me or mine damaging police cars or looting stores. I simply do not know this anger or desperation. There are many similar thoughts that manifest into what we're witnessing in Atlanta and America right now that help me understand the rage, yet hope for the destruction and chaos to end as the police officers I know in Atlanta and elsewhere are not the men and women portrayed in these awful events.
 
What I do know, which is my purpose for writing this, is that education is a key for flipping any narrative, whether it's the economic cycle of life or ignorance. I'm incredibly proud of what the faculty and staff on our campus do every day to give kids of all backgrounds a real chance at life by stressing education – what Dr. Becker likes to call the Georgia State Experience. Within Athletics, we will continue to promote Academic Achievement by our student-athletes in a big way in the classroom, on the court, and in society, while learning ourselves from the student-athletes we are privileged to work with every day.
 
Secondly, I go to our core values – Compete with a Purpose, Selflessness, Be a Positive Leader. Each of these will guide us forward to identify actionable ways we can affect positive change with our kids and on campus. I know the character of each individual in our department and can confidently tell you that we will come out of this uncertain period better and stronger. I recognize that for us to have credibility, actions are much more important than words. I pledge these conversations will take us to new heights. As an example of constructive thinking, several weeks ago, our women's basketball coach Gene Hill spoke of the importance of voting and we are currently developing a voting education initiative that will be implemented this summer. I know there are other educational opportunities out there for us to achieve. I hope my comments spur ideas in you like Gene's words did for me. Please share if you feel inclined.
 
I also hope this gives you immense pride in our University and athletics program that you support both financially and with your heart and time. There is no doubt this fall will be unique and offer many challenges to what we expect as normal, but we are actively preparing for a football season (and other fall sports seasons) on our campus and within the Sun Belt Conference, while doing it safely for all involved. We currently have our football team on campus and are testing each weekly for the Coronavirus and will continue to do so throughout the fall, adding our other student-athletes as they matriculate in. My strong thanks goes to our Sports Medicine staff, led by Bob Murphy, for their tireless work in making any of this possible. Like many other areas in our department, we are staffed by some incredible people.
 
In closing, I pray everyone stays safe, social distances, and wears a mask in public settings... so we can play football, soccer, volleyball, and run!!
 
Many thanks,
 
Charlie Cobb
Director of Athletics
 
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Players Mentioned

Charlie Cobb

Charlie Cobb

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Players Mentioned

Charlie Cobb

Charlie Cobb

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