Football

Colin Kaepernick famously took a knee against police brutality in 2016. The #MeToo movement reached the sports world in 2018 and exposed repulsive misconduct in many spheres. After the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor by police in 2020, strikes and civic engagement from almost all corners of the sports world, especially the WNBA, swept the nation. In short, modern activism in sports is at an unprecedented level, professor Frank Guridy said at the start of Monday’s Athlete Activism webinar.

During the height of racial injustice protests across the country last September, a group of Columbia student-athletes decided to form the Columbia Black Student-Athlete Alliance. The BSAA aims to provide a space for members to come together, reach out to the community, and educate their peers about the challenges they face as Black student-athletes.

After months of YouTube workouts, chilly runs, and reorganizing dorm rooms and childhood bedrooms to make space for a yoga mat or weights, Columbia students will soon have another option. Dodge Fitness Center will reopen for limited student use for the first time in over 10 months on Tuesday. The Dodge reopening will begin with a maximum capacity of 320 online reservations per day, a fraction of its typical usage.

On October 25, 1947, Baker Field was filled with 35,000 fans, despite having a seating capacity of only 32,000. The large crowd was vibrating with excitement. They were anticipating the long-awaited game between the Columbia Lions and the Army Cadets. Unbeknownst to the audience at the time, Columbia would upset Army and subsequently end its 32-game winning streak.

It’s 6 in the morning. Columbia students are fast asleep, exhausted by their Thursday night outings in the city and midterm papers due the night before. Few would even think about getting up at such an ungodly hour, especially on the day that marks the beginning of the weekend. In fact, most of the city is still asleep. You cannot yet hear the typical hustle and bustle of Manhattan.

Down by 3, the Lions are at the 24-yard line with three down and nine yards for a first down. Captain and quarterback Anders Hill, CC ’18, scans the endzone looking for the opening and spots then-first-year wide receiver Josh Wainwright in the middle. Wainwright catches the ball and rolls into the endzone to win the game. In that instant, fans donning Pantone 291 rushed the field as the Homecoming game marked that the 2017 season was going to be one for the books.

Just one day after Columbia and Barnard announced that only first-years and sophomores will be invited back to campus for the fall semester, the Ivy League declared Wednesday afternoon that all athletics will be postponed until at least January. All sports will be prohibited from participating in competitions, while practices will be permitted if protections are in place to ensure they are in accordance with each institution’s and state’s policies.

The Ivy League is considering multiple schedules for football’s return as schools across the country attempt to put together opening plans for the fall semester. As the number of COVID-19 cases rises across the United States, the conference may potentially delay intercollegiate football games until April 2021, and practices may not start until March.