The Christian Science Monitor

Racial equity and the pandemic: How a collegiate football player is tackling both

Dallas Hobbs pauses outside the Washington State University football stadium in Pullman on Oct. 20, 2020. A defensive lineman for WSU, Mr. Hobbs has worked with other athletes in the Pac-12, which starts its delayed season Nov. 7, to improve COVID-19 safety measures for players.

Washington State University defensive lineman Dallas Hobbs walks through a vast but largely deserted campus athletic complex in Pullman, a quiet college town surrounded by golden fields of freshly cut spring wheat, on his day off from the Cougars’ football practice.

“Hey, coach!” he greets WSU head football coach Nick Rolovich in passing. Then he steps into the empty WSU stadium and strides onto the turf at center field, recalling the night three years ago his team defeated the University of Southern California (USC) Trojans in overtime, and elated fans rushed the field.

“It was pretty exciting,” recalls Mr. Hobbs, then a freshman, even though that celebration cost his team “a big fine.”

Back then, by his own account, Mr. Hobbs’ life

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Christian Science Monitor

The Christian Science Monitor4 min readInternational Relations
Fearing Israeli Invasion Of Rafah, Palestinians Plan To Flee. But Where?
Panic is setting in across Rafah. Even as talks seeking an Israel-Hamas cease-fire enter a crucial stage this week, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are scrambling to find a way out of this cramped southern Gaza border city – and findi
The Christian Science Monitor2 min read
Whose Betrayal? Our Latest Rebuilding Trust Story Sparks Internal Debate.
An interesting thing happened as some of us at the Monitor were discussing this week’s cover story. We had an argument. Not an "I'm going to go away and write terrible things about you on social media" kind of argument. But the good kind – a sharing
The Christian Science Monitor5 min read
In Kentucky, The Oldest Black Independent Library Is Still Making History
Thirty minutes into the library tour, Louisa Sarpee wants to work there. History is so close to her. One block away from her high school, the small library she had never set foot in laid the foundation of African American librarianship. What is more,

Related Books & Audiobooks