July 17, 2015
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A trip originally planned to hand out free shoes and study a different culture has turned into a living history lesson.
Vanderbilt athletic director David Williams and a group including 10 of his student-athletes are flying to Cuba in time to see the United States finally enjoy full embassy status Monday in Havana for the first time in decades. It’s a trip to a country Williams wasn’t even sure they could visit when he suggested Cuba as a destination last winter.
“None of us knew that things would move this fast from a diplomatic point of view, and that’s a plus,” Williams said Thursday.
Approval for their trip didn’t come through until May, and Williams said they know they won’t be the first Americans to visit Cuba. But the athletic director who also is a lawyer says the timing of this trip allows them a chance to see the effects of U.S. policy toward a country in person, especially with Iran wanting relief from economic sanctions as part of the nuclear treaty reached earlier this week.
