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In a racist society it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist. Angela Y. DavisThe ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Heart of Sports is a weekly column that curates the stories, pictures and moments that provide a window into the beating heart of sports:

Its why we watch. Its why we play. Its the stuff that rises up out of sports and settles down into us.

We have spoken often in this space (Im looking at you Muffet McGraw, Megan Rapinoe, Race Imboden, and well Megan Rapinoe again) and on this website (The Sports Revolution Is Being Televised (2014)) about the importance of athletes and those in the sports world using their massive platform and using their voices to speak out and lead on social issues.

Here we are again. Last weeks in-broad-daylight videotaped killing of George Floyd, a hand-cuffed, unarmed black man, by Minneapolis police has become a flashpoint for our country and set off waves of protests across our cities and towns.

We have been here before and over and over and over again:

Michael Brown. Eric Garner. Trayvon Martin.

The list goes on and on. What we need to do is everything we can every single one of us to ensure that we will not be there again.

Black athletes like Colin Kaepernick, like Tim Anderson, like LeBron James, like Muhammad Ali have been using their platform to speak about injustice for decades.

Many times they have been met with the stick to sports mantra. We still see this hurled around online today. This response is, of course, designed to shut down their speech, because it was making people uncomfortable, whichis the entire point. We should be uncomfortable in the face of injustice. Wed better be.

Too often, their white counterparts and colleagues have remained silent.Silence is not an option is we want change. As Bishop Desmond Tuto famously said If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.

Today we are highlighting some of the high profile folks in the sports world who ARE speaking out loudly against racism:

The black community needs our help. They have been unheard for far too long. Open your ears, listen, and speak. This isnt politics. This is human rights.

Joey Burrow (@Joe_Burrow10) May 29, 2020

pic.twitter.com/HFFVWVlwYj

Carson Wentz (@cj_wentz) May 28, 2020

I CANT BREATHE

Remember the names: #GeorgeFloyd #BreonnaTaylor#AhmaudArbery#TrayvonMartin#EricGarner #TamirRice#TanishaAnderson#MyaHallin#BLACKLIVESMATTER pic.twitter.com/ZGHXbYhRKG

Jack Flaherty (@Jack9Flaherty) June 1, 2020

.@ColorOfChange #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/CgMfsjoCOi

Lucas Giolito (@LGio27) May 31, 2020

For those @Twitter users, like me, losing followers because you care, post and share thoughts, videos, reports of what is going on in our country right now, instead of just sticking to sports, dont worry about it. As my mother used to say Their Loss. Keep being you.

Linda Cohn (@lindacohn) June 1, 2020

This is why he is Pop. As he once told me- life is short- you either stand for something or you dont. He has always firmly stood for justice and equality, and given the rest of us the courage to do so too. https://t.co/IPHCyQa1B4

Steve Kerr (@SteveKerr) June 1, 2020

GMP Sports stands with @TimAnderson7 and every other athlete that is using their platform to speak out and refusing to stick to sports #BlackLivesMatter. pic.twitter.com/7LYYNhdtJi

The Good Men Project (@GoodMenProject) June 2, 2020

Photo Credit: Instagram/@TimAnderson7 (Screen Capture)

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Heart of Sports: Hell, No. We Wont Just Stick to Sports. If We Are Demanding Change Together, We Cant - The Good Men Project