Aug. 4, 2016
The Commodores kicked off 2016 preseason practice in a unique way on Thursday evening, joining Vanderbilt’s campus police officers in a solidarity walk to the team’s indoor practice facility.
Over 30 members, including Associate Vice Chancellor/Police Chief August Washington, of Vanderbilt University’s police force met with the team before having dinner and walking to practice with the Commodores as a sign of solidarity and appreciation between the two entities.
The idea of the solidarity walk was brought to head coach Derek Mason and athletics director David Williams by members of the team’s leadership council, including Oren Burks.
“This is just a chance for us to give back,” Burks said. “We really appreciate what they do, the work they do as a staff. There is so much going on in society today but we need to honor the people that are laying their lives on the line everyday.”
Williams was extremely proud of the student-athletes from the moment he heard about the idea with that pride carrying over into Thursday night’s events.
“We love the fact that these young gentlemen and ladies are growing up to be responsible people,” Williams said prior the Dores’ first preseason practice of the season. “So when they came into talk to me they were sort of shocked because I was sitting there with a big smile on my face, and I was like ‘I love you guys.’ This was cool. This is exactly what we want.”
For a report on Vanderbilt’s first preseason practice click here.
