Mizzou Men For Men Continues To Teach Valuable Lessons To Tiger Athletes
10/27/2015 4:56:00 PM | General
Group leader, Dr. Pat Ivey, uses a variety of topics to enhance the hundreds of Mizzou male student-athletes
COLUMBIA, Mo. – On Monday evening inside the Columns Club at Memorial Stadium, nearly 400 male Tiger student-athletes attended the latest Mizzou Men for Men group meeting. Beginning in 2014, the Mizzou Men for Men group strives to support and promote social responsibility for Mizzou's male student-athletes.
Led by Associate Athletic Director of Athletic Performance, Dr. Pat Ivey, the Mizzou Men for Men group finds constructive and effective ways to teach viable lessons to the hundreds of male student-athletes residing in Columbia, Mo.
Past Men for Men meetings have included discussions with former Mizzou Wrestling All-American Tyron Woodley, financial competency seminars with local business leaders and the impact of positive coaching inside collegiate athletics.
Monday night's discussion topic brought up an issue that is frequently discussed throughout the world:
Why is race and racism so hard to talk about?
Men for Men committee member and Assistant Professor at the University of Missouri, Dr. Ty-Ron Douglas, served as the discussion moderator. With Douglas' guidance, the hundreds of Mizzou male student-athletes on hand listened to three panelists examine a variety of topics involving race and racism in society.
The panel of Dr. Michael W. Bahr (Associate Professor, University of Missouri-St. Louis), Dr. Amalia Dache-Gerbino (Assistant Professor of Higher Education, University of Missouri) and Donell Young (Office of Student Rights and Responsibility, University of Missouri) provided valuable insight on the topics at hand for nearly 45 minutes.
The group of Mizzou male student-athletes on hand Monday evening consisted of varying races, religions and beliefs. With a sensitive and widely discussed topic like racism, it was to no one's surprise that the levels of passion and conflicting opinions continued to build throughout the discussion inside the Columns Club.
Following the panelists' insight on the topics, Dr. Douglas opened the discussion floor to the Tiger student-athletes. One student-athletes' hand quickly raised to the sky and instantly the mood and atmosphere in the room changed.
The Tiger student-athlete stood in front of his peers, discussing his own struggles with race and racism at the University of Missouri. The once casual and complacent group of Mizzou athletes was suddenly quiet, focused and emotionally moved from what they were hearing. Tears could be seen rolling down the faces of countless number of student-athletes and guests in the room.
In perhaps the most moving moment of the meeting, every single one of the attendees on hand rose to their feet and gave a round of applause to the student-athlete who showed an incredible amount of bravery and passion in his personal message.
Thanks in large part to the student-athlete who spoke his mind, Monday evening's Mizzou Men for Men meeting once again taught valuable lessons to all of the Mizzou student-athletes in attendance. Before the session concluded, both Young and Ivey noted the growing themes that they want to showcase in each of the Mizzou Men for Men meetings.
First, Douglas argued that regardless the topic being discussed, one must continue to learn from their life experiences and continue the conversation at hand with their peers. In short, there's always room to grow and become a better person.
Finally, Ivey urged to all of the Mizzou male student-athletes to use the experiences they gained from the night's discussion and come together with their peers. As a student-athlete within a major Division I athletics program, it's vital to use your platform and standing in order to make positive changes in society a reality.
For more information on the Mizzou Men for Men program, contact Dr. Ivey (iveyp@missouri.edu) and visit MUTigers.com.
