RISE Partners With CU Athletics To Drive Equality And Social Progress

BOULDER - When the University of Colorado athletics department formed its Diversity & Inclusive Excellence committee two years ago, the vision was to create a more welcoming, united environment for all people associated with the Buffs.

Fast forward two years later and CU has already implemented several programs aimed to bring people together and help them recognize their differences and natural biases and work to overcome those. This week the department is taking another step forward as Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE) is visiting the Boulder campus to drive social progress.

The timing of this program coinciding with continuing division among athletes at the professional level after controversial tweets and protests by athletes and politicians alike is coincidental--this week has been planned for months. But the timing of it could not have come at a better time as people try to solve those differences and come together.

RISE partnered with the Pac-12 in 2016 and has had a presence at Pac-12 championships over the last year and is now taking the time to spread its message of unity on the 12 campuses. RISE, a nonprofit organization, was founded in 2015 by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross and has a mission of creating understanding, respect and equality among athletes, fans and communities by using sports to improve race relations and drive social progress.

RISE kicked off its week in Boulder on Sunday evening meeting with members of CU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to begin dialogue on areas of strength and weakness in social progress on CU's campus.

Senior women's basketball player Zoe Correal said that it allowed her to gain a better understanding of herself and others.

"It was really introspective and I learned a lot about myself," Correal said. "I learned a lot about, not just my values, but some of the values of other people who came to the RISE meeting. It was really interesting seeing the different views and I think for the future, it helps me see the world through other people's lenses and get a clearer view of my lens."

The student-athletes that participated on Sunday went through several exercises, including one where they were given 10 flashcards and were told to write down a different word that describes them on each card. As the exercise continued, they took away cards until each participant was left with one word that best described them.

"In that activity, we were learning more about ourselves and what we value and what really is the most important part of our identity. [The RISE's] main thing is inclusivity and I think one of the biggest things for inclusivity is understanding. We have to understand where people come from, other people's morals, other people's values and hear other people's point of views."

Medford Moorer, the chair of CU's Diversity & Inclusive Excellence committee, assistant director of academics, and a former Buffs football player, helped organize this week's activities with RISE.

"The goal is to bring awareness to equity and diversity and inclusion and creating a safe space not only for student-athletes, but for fans and everyone involved with our university," Moorer said.

He believes athletes can be leaders to create change for the better and to bring communities together.

"[We want] to use sport and our platform in athletics to get the community to engage in conversation," Moorer said. "That means conversation on how we can get better as a community, how we can support each other to make sure we are providing a safe space for our student-athletes and our fans and anyone who comes to our games and who we interact with throughout Boulder County and the state of Colorado."

RISE will be at Saturday's football game against Arizona. The plan is for a booth to be set up in the southeast corner of Folsom Field where fans can take photos and make a pledge to eliminate discrimination and provide an opportunity for people to have a conversation about race relations and other dividing factors. RISE will also be at CU's soccer match on Sunday against Stanford at Prentup Field with similar activities planned.

Sunday's soccer match will also be the first-ever PRIDE Game in support of the LGBTQ community. CU's Gender and Sexuality Center and Out Boulder will both have tables set up for fans to stop by.

RISE Partners With CU Athletics To Drive Equality And Social Progress

Players Mentioned

Zoe Correal

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