Lang
6/6/20
The sixth night of protesting the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police led demonstrators to a new location Saturday night: Kinnick Stadium.
The stadium became a target after several former Iowa football players took to Twitter Friday night to claim racial biases among the coaching staff. Some players specifically mentioned strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle, citing instances where he allegedly made racist comments to them.
Doyle was put on administrative Saturday night. Also Saturday, head coach Kirk Ferentz released a video via the Iowa Football Twitter account saying an independent review will take place. He also announced the formation of an advisory committee made up of current and former players and departmental staff that will explore how the program can create a better environment for minority players.
A short time after the video was released, protesters marched from the Pentacrest across the newly-reopened Burlington Street Bridge and made their way to Kinnick Stadium. There, they spray-painted slogans supporting Black Lives Matter and condemning police on the side of the stadium, on the surrounding sidewalks, and on the statue of Nile Kinnick. One woman climbed the statue and called for Ferentz to be fired, saying he was “a racist piece of s—.”
One person spray-painted “F— Chirs Doyle” on the west side of the stadium. Another wrote “Treat your players right” on the sidewalk in front of the statue.
The protesters then moved west on Melrose Avenue, south on Sunset Street and west on Highway 1. The group almost made it to Highway 218, but was stopped by a line of law enforcement before heading back to the Pentacrest.
Protesters also spray-painted a wall at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics earlier in the night.
Earlier in the day Iowa City Police closed North Dubuque Street between Park Road and Foster Road, in case protesters tried to take that route to Interstate 80 for the third night in a row.