Texas’ Strong seeks unity in light of violence across country

Asked about leadership during a Sunday roundtable with 10 NCAA Division I coaches from across the state, Texas Longhorns football coach Charlie Strong touched on the tragedies that are gripping the nation.

Police officers have been shot and killed in Dallas and Baton Rouge, La., days after the fatal shootings by police of black men in Minnesota and Baton Rouge.

“If we look at our country, look at what’s happening right now, from Minnesota to what’s happening in Baton Rouge again, and to Dallas,” said Strong at a kickoff event to the 84th annual Texas High School Coaches Association state convention, “We have to band together, we have to come together, because who else influences and impacts our young people more than we do?

“It’s something we can’t run from. It’s reality, it’s reality, and it’s hitting us in the face.”

THSCA officials said TCU’s Gary Patterson missed the event because of mechanical difficulties on the airplane he was to use. Baylor’s Jim Grobe, Texas Tech’s Kliff Kingsbury, Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin, Houston’s Tom Herman and SMU’s Chad Morris were in attendance.

Strong spoke twice about the violence, grabbing rapt attention from the hundreds of coaches in the Grand Hyatt’s Texas Ballroom.

“I’m not trying to take the pulpit, but it’s all about what’s happening right now, what’s happening in our country,” he said.

Strong said it was vital for coaches to teach players the right way and make sure they hear and understand the message.

“If you take a football team you take different races, different personalities, and you ask them to come together, you ask them to be a team because that’s the only way you’re going to play,” Strong said. “So if you can do it with a football team, why can’t you do that in society?”

This story was originally published July 17, 2016 at 8:43 PM with the headline "Texas’ Strong seeks unity in light of violence across country."