Anti-Racist Coaching:
Moving the Needle On and Off the Playing Field
This toolkit provides resources to help coaches engage in the necessary anti-racist work to support their black and non-black athletes of color.
Anti-Racist Coaching is Justice-Oriented Coaching
Your Athletes Can’t Around Wait For You To Become More Comfortable With Race and Racism
Racism isn’t just individual “mean” acts or words. Racism is also a set of invisible advantages that allow dominant groups to thrive where minority groups experience oppression and inequity. Understand that issues of policing, education inequities, health and nutrition disparities, and voter suppression impact all people, but disproportionately impact black and non-black people of color. The charge is for white coaches, parents, spectators, teammates, and allies to not only acknowledge this fact but to engage in the work to create more equitable outcomes for all. This guide is intended to help white coaches, parents, and spectators on their anti-racism journey.
Anti-racism is the practice of opposing racism and pursuing racial justice in every aspect of society. Anti-racist coaching is an inside-outside game of finding where racial inequities prevent athletes from becoming their whole selves. It requires us to look inside at our own coaching philosophies and systems - athlete management, team training, our disciplinary systems, and parental engagement. It requires us to look outside at the systems that support our teams - the education system, the referees and the league, healthcare, nutrition, rehabilitation, and wellness systems.
Your team is more than a physical space. Your team is an opportunity to pursue transformation and build cross-racial and cross-cultural bonds between athletes, coaches, the support staff, and parents. This journey requires empathy, humility, and an eagerness to challenge ourselves.
Your team is more than a physical space. Your team is an opportunity to pursue transformation and build cross-racial and cross-cultural bonds between athletes, coaches, the support staff, and parents. This journey requires empathy, humility, and an eagerness to challenge ourselves.
Anti-racist coaching is F.U.N.D.A.M.E.N.T.A.L.
Anti-racist coaching It requires a few small shifts and adjustments in the way that we engage with people on our teams that are different from us.
How can I get started?
Knowledge is power! You are on a path that requires you to continue challenging your understanding of the world. There are a lot of resources here… take your time. Engage your coaching staff, your family, your athletic department, or club in a joint effort in this work. Are you ready to get uncomfortable? Let’s go!
Podcasts on anti-racism in sports
- Let’s Talk About… Supporting Your Black Athletes (Let’s K12 Better podcast)
- Racism’s Persistence in Sports (Edge of Sports)
- Supporting Kids Of Color In Wake Of Racialized Violence from EmbraceRace
- NFL Pro Bowler Michael Bennett on the Power of Protest (Edge of Sports)
- The Kansas City Chiefs Name: Racist Or “Just Sports?” (Edge of Sports)
- Brené with Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an Antiracist
- Seeing White Podcast
- 5 Podcasts To Listen To If You Really Want To Know About Race In America
- Call Your Girlfriend: White Fragility
- At Liberty: Why the FBI Ignores White Supremacist Violence (ACLU)
Videos
- Color Blind or Color Brave (TED Talk) Mellody Hobson
- How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them (TEDx Talk) Verna Myers
- A Class Divided https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/class-divided/
- 10 Must Watch Black History Documentaries by PBS
- Deepening Your Understanding of Race and Racism | Tools for Anti-Racist Teaching
- Raheem Sterling on racism
Articles for Personal Reflection
- Anti-Racist Reading List from the renowned antiracism scholar, Ibram X. Kendi via Chicago Public Library
- Stages of Racial Identity via Racial Equity Tools
- How Did We Get Here: 163 years of The Atlantic’s writings on race and racism in America (The Atlantic)
- 15 Charts That Prove We're Far From Post-Racial (Huffington Post, Black Voices)
- 7 Reasons Why ‘Colorblindness’ Contributes to Racism Instead of Solves It
- For white kids, they’re youthful mistakes. For their black peers, they can be fatal. (Huffington Post, Black Voices)
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism (Good Men Project)
- Talking to kids about discrimination, American Psychological Association
- 99 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice
- Resources for White People to Learn and Talk About Race and Racism
Articles on Sports and Race
- What does it mean to be black and play sports (The Undefeated)
- Four Ways Youth Sports Can Combat Racism (Good.is)
- The Critical Role of Athletes in Fighting White Blindness (The Nation)
- Survey: African-American youth more often play sports to chase college, pro dreams
- Racial Report Card (The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport - TIDES)
Resources For Your Parents and Spectators
Kids see color and learn to become silent about it or attribute negative connotations to it when parents are silent or are not explicit about discussing race.
- How to Raise A Socially Conscious, Anti-Racist Kid (Video) New York Times Tara Parker-Pope, Amber Coleman-Mortley
- Talks to help you understand racism in America (TED Talks Playlist)
- 5-Minute Film Festival: Talking About Race and Stereotypes (Edutopia Video Playlist)
- Talking To Your Kids About Race and How to Raise An Anti-Racist Kid
- Beyond the Golden Rule (Teaching Tolerance)
- How to talk to kids about race and racism
- What White Children Need to Know About Race, Ali Michael and Eleonora Bartoli
- Talking to Kids About Racism and Justice: a list for parents, caregivers & educators from the Oakland Public Library
This toolkit was created for the US Soccer Foundation © 2020