South Carolina Basketball: Frank Martin to Chair NABC Committee on Racial Reconciliation

The NABC has formed a committee on racial reconciliation amidst current events happening in our society.  South Carolina basketball coach Frank Martin will lead the committee.

The National Association of Basketball Coaches is an organization made up of collegiate coaches that’s purpose is to better the game of basketball.  Founded in 1927 by “Phog” Allen, the association recently announced its intention to form a committee focusing on race and inequality within sports and our society as a whole.  Gamecock head coach Frank Martin has been selected as committee chair.

Here’s what the NABC had to say about the reasoning behind the group’s formation.

"Coaches have influential platforms that can help spur change. In light of ongoing injustice and unrest, the NABC has launched the NABC Committee on Racial Reconciliation, which will address issues both within intercollegiate athletics and society at large.While coaches can and should lend their voices to making a difference on the national, regional and local levels, it is also imperative not to overlook the well-being of the student-athletes under our immediate care. Our players look to us for leadership, compassion, support and advice during difficult times, and we must be prepared to first and foremost meet those needs."

The committee hopes to start a dialogue between coaches, players, and local communities.  It lists a few steps in getting the ball rolling.

Those steps are team communication, student-athlete engagement, connecting with internal and external leaders, becoming an advocate, and committing to learning.

“The NABC spends significant time on important issues in our sport such as transfers and the recruiting calendar, but they pale in significance to the racial conflicts our country is currently facing and the underlying issues that got us to this point,” said NABC President and TCU head coach Jamie Dixon. “Our hope is that this committee and list of recommendations can leverage the platforms we have as coaches to help bring about needed change.”

Frank Martin assumes the new role of committee chair.  He’ll be entering his 14th season as an NCAA head coach, and his 9th year at the helm in Columbia.  He helped lead the Gamecocks to the Final Four in 2017, where he took a moment to teach about the impacts that you can have on others, as opposed to focusing solely on the sport of basketball.  Using your platform as a player or coach to positively influence your community is the very reason for this committee’s creation.

Martin, who is Cuban American, is the son of political exiles.  Growing up in Miami, he was the first in his family to be born in the United States.