AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Texas junior linebacker DeMarvion Overshown said Thursday he will sit out from all team activities until the school starts meeting demands for campus changes sought by dozens of Longhorns athletes.
The demands made in early June include renaming several campus buildings currently named after former Texas officials with ties to the Confederacy and segregation, and a call to drop the school song ”The Eyes of Texas.”
“We have been told that things are being done behind close(d) doors but have yet to see any changes,” Overshown tweeted.
The athletes made the demands amid calls for racial justice following the death of George Floyd while in custody of Minneapolis police.
Overshown said he’s been inspired by the activism of WNBA star Maya Moore, who sat out last season and worked to free a prison inmate whose supporters argued was wrongly convicted.
“With that being said until real action is taken, and real changes are made I will be sitting out of all team activities,” Overshown wrote. “I will support my team in whatever they do but this is something I’m very passionate about and I can not continue to perform for a program that doesn’t show me the same love and support I do for them”.
Even though the Texas campus is closed amid the coronavirus pandemic, Longhorns football players have returned to campus for summer workouts.
Texas junior safety Caden Sterns retweeted Overshown’s remarks with the note, “I support you brotha and back you! Love”.
A team spokesman said the school did not plan a response to Overshown’s remarks. Overshown played in eight games last season and finished with 19 tackles, two sacks and one interception.
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