“I don’t want my loved ones to get hurt.” Former NSU star Steven Whitley spurred to hold rally, march.
Steven Whitley, like many others around the country, saw what happened to George Floyd and was outraged.
A former Norfolk State basketball star who just graduated from the school, Whitley couldn’t help but imagine in Floyd’s place, his own brother or father dying under the unrelenting knee of a Minneapolis policeman.
It’s why Whitley was moved to action.
Whitley, who attended Booker T. Washington High in Norfolk, has organized a march and rally designed to raise awareness of Black issues, including the police brutality that sparked recent protests across the nation.
The athlete-centric event, which is scheduled to feature Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander, City Council members, community activists and other dignitaries, is set for 1 p.m. Saturday at Town Center in Virginia Beach. It will include police supervision and is open to the public.
“It’s going to be peaceful,” said Whitley, known universally as “Diesel” since he was an oversized 9-year-old playing youth hoops. “Everyone’s welcome — all ages. If you’re thinking about bringing your children, this is the one to bring them to. It’s an educational piece. So this is the one to come to to make a difference.”
The rally’s very existence raises a question: Why was it organized by a mid-major basketball player with no background in activism?
The two Bryant & Stratton College assistant coaches who conceived the idea have an answer for that. When Corey Turner and Dimitri Bailey first thought of a rally featuring local athletes speaking out, they knew exactly who to call.
“Diesel is special,” said Bailey, a 31-year-old New York native who grew up in Hampton and Newport News and has known Whitley for about four years. “Beyond basketball terms, he’s a special individual. He was immediately the first person that popped into my head. I know a lot of great young men, and even young ladies, who could’ve led this as well. But Diesel is special, so it had to be him.”
For Whitley, a pensive, soft-spoken leader on the court at NSU who took a serpentine path back to his hometown, it was a no-brainer.
He’d been considering trying to do something – anything – to react to police violence and institutional injustice. He talked to his mother, prayed about it and waited for a sign. That’s when Turner and Bailey sprang the idea on him.
“I was like, ‘Well, there goes my sign,’ " Whitley said. “I just want to do my part. I know I’ve got an image. I know I’ve got a voice. A lot of people listen. I lead. So if I can go up there and do my part, I’m just showing that you can do your part, too.”
Saturday’s rally will start with speakers addressing a handful of race issues. That will be followed by about a 20-minute walk around Town Center, escorted by police. Masks will be available to those in attendance.
Turner, Bryant & Stratton’s recruiting coordinator and Whitley’s former AAU coach, knew Whitley was the man to organize it.
“Aw man, I’ve been knowing ‘Diesel’ since ‘Diesel’ wasn’t even really Diesel,” Turner, 51, said, laughing. “He might’ve been just unleaded.
“We thought it would be a great idea for the student-athletes to have a voice with all that’s going on.”
On Saturday, Whitley plans to step into the moment with a message of both hope and clarity.
Sure, he said, the country’s criminal justice system has had its problems. But it also has its heroes.
“It’s a lot of hatred toward the police system right now, basically,” Whitley said. “It’s hard to look at a police (officer) right now and not be upset.
“We’ve just got to separate the bad ones from the good. I just want to show people that every police officer isn’t bad.”
Floyd’s death, captured on camera, was a particular catalyst prompting Whitley to act.
“That put a lot of worry and fury in my heart,” Whitley said. “So when I see something like that happen to George Floyd, that’s what I think about. I’m thinking about George Floyd, but I’m thinking about my family. Like, what-ifs.
“I’ve got to make a change. That’s why I want to be able to step up to the plate and do something different, because I don’t want my loved ones to get hurt.”
Whitley, a 6-foot-3 guard, averaged 10.7 points per game and eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau in three seasons with the Spartans, leading them to 52 victories in that span.
He played at Fork Union Military Academy and Robert Morris before transferring to NSU, less than a mile from his high school.
Bailey said he and Turner wanted young people like Whitley to assume a leadership role when addressing racial issues.
“A lot of times, we tend to speak for them or represent them or stand up on their behalf, and it’s time to let them to stand up for themselves and let it be known that they feel just as strongly about stuff as we do,” Bailey said. “A lot of them have ideas that we never hear about, or we never put them to the forefront of a movement or the leadership. We always tell them they have next, but things would be a lot better sometimes if they took now.”
David Hall, 757-446-2367, david.hall@pilotonline.com
Want to go?
What: An athlete-centric rally for racial justice, followed by a brief march
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
Where: Regal Theater Town Center parking lot, 104 Constitution Dr., Virginia Beach
Worth knowing: Masks will be provided, as will a police escort. All ages are welcome.
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