On the day the Michigan
football team was supposed
to kick off its season against
Washington, several Wol-
verine players and parents
instead gathered at Michigan
Stadium to protest the sea-
son’s postponement.
The protest, which was pri-
marily arranged by Michigan
parents Peach Pagano (Carlo
Kemp’s mother), Melissa
Hutchinson and Lisa McCaf-
frey, included over 50 people
in total, including a handful
of players and coach Jim Har-
baugh.
When the Big Ten post-
poned its fall football season
in August, the players were
not given input into the deci-
sion. According to senior
quarterback Dylan McCaf-
frey, they weren’t even told
of the decision, instead find-
ing out news through Twit-
ter. Rumors have swirled for
weeks about when the confer-
ence will restart, with dates
ranging from October to the
spring.
Those who gathered at the
Big House intended to make
their voice heard and send a
message that they wanted to
get back on the field as soon as
possible, as well as to call for
greater transparency around
the conference’s decision-
making.
“We’re just hoping to get
the word out that it wasn’t
our decision not to play at
all,” senior quarterback Dylan
McCaffrey said. “Our play-
ers were fully supportive
of (playing) and we frankly
didn’t really know they were
gonna cancel. … We just
feel as if the decisions were
made by a lot of people that
it doesn’t directly affect. I
guess we want to know who
was involved and who voted
against it. And in that we’d
love to just be able to talk to
them, and share our point of
view as well, which we feel
like we were not able to share
at all.”
After leaving Michigan
Stadium, the group marched
down Hoover Street and con-
tinued to the Diag. According
to Pagano, the protest was
originally intended to end at
University president Mark
Schlissel’s home, but that
plan was scrapped due to con-
struction on South University
Avenue.
Once on the Diag, protes-
tors chanted, “We want to
play!” and sang The Victors.
Then, Chris Hutchinson and
Jack Harbaugh, Jim’s dad,
addressed the crowd.
“What an exciting day, just
think what it could’ve been
had they allowed us to play,”
Jack Harbaugh said. “This
would’ve been kickoff time.
In the locker room, looking
around at the sweat beads
coming off their foreheads,
looking at each other know-
ing that you’re gonna have the
chance to play the greatest
game in America.”
Fifth-year senior defen-
sive lineman Carlo Kemp
emphasized that throughout
history, college athletes have
traditionally not had much of
a voice in issues that impact
them. For Kemp, participating
in the protest was a platform
to make noise about an issue
he cared about. He marched
with a handmade sign that
read “We want to play” on one
side and “I say when I play” on
the other.
Kemp’s sign was a reference
to the lack of agency he felt
Big Ten players had around
whether they would be com-
fortable playing. He pointed
to the SEC, ACC and Big 12
as examples of the opposite,
where players have the oppor-
tunity to opt out or to take the
field.
“None of us here at Michi-
gan, in the Big Ten, or in the
Pac-12 really had the opportu-
nity to talk to our families or
make a decision about going
forward as if we’re gonna play
the season,” Kemp said. “Am
I gonna play the game, am I
gonna opt out, they gave me
the option to opt out but we
didn’t even get that choice
like some of the other Power
Five conferences have right
now where they have a voice,
they can decide if they want to
play this season or not, and we
didn’t have that choice.”
Pagano told The Daily that
she, Hutchinson and McCaf-
frey arranged the protest to
support their children on what
was supposed to be gameday
and to voice their support for
having a season. “Our goal
is to let them play,” she said.
“That’s the whole thing.”
Kemp originally came into
Saturday not knowing how he
would feel waking up on what
was supposed to be his last
first day taking the field as a
Wolverine. But attending the
protest gave him a purpose
as well as an outlet to voice
his frustration. Though he’s
not sure if any greater change
will come from it or when
the season will start, for now,
Kemp is satisfied he was able
to speak up.
“I woke up and I woke up
pretty happy and excited
today,” Kemp said. “I didn’t
think this is how I would
wake up this Saturday, the
first Saturday of college foot-
ball, but I haven’t had the
chance to even think about
that and I’m happy because
my mind’s been here, focusing
on Michigan and focusing on
trying to get the season again.
Right now I’m happy, I feel
good, I’m joyful.
“I didn’t think I was gonna
be saying this on Saturday, so
I’ll take this right now.”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, September 9, 2020 — 17
Cam York and the rise of the
offensive defenseman
Entering last season, after
being drafted 14th overall by the
Philadelphia Flyers, sophomore
defenseman Cam York had a lot
on his plate.
Not only did York surpass
those
expectations,
he
obliterated them.
By the end of the season, York
was a Big Ten Rookie of the
Year finalist and his defensive
prowess was apparent. As a first
line defenseman, he helped the
Wolverines allow just two goals
per game, the fewest of any Big
Ten team while also boasting
the second-best penalty kill
percentage,
defending
84.3
percent of power plays.
Ultimately, though, what sets
York apart is his two-way ability.
York’s game is representative
of a bigger trend across all levels
of hockey. Defensemen are no
longer bruisers whose main
purpose is to block shots and
make checks. Instead, defenders
are quick, elusive players who
can operate as a fourth forward
when their team is on the rush.
York proved that he was one
of these new-age defenders
by
contributing
five
goals
and 11 assists in his freshman
campaign — tied for fourth in
points on Michigan’s roster
and third among all Big Ten
freshmen.
To set up a goal last season
against New Hampshire, York
came flying in from the left side,
took the puck in stride, glided
below the net and then snuck
in the wrap-around attempt
for the goal. York displayed his
offensive skill set with a dangle
to drop the defender and force
the goaltender to over-commit
to the wrong side.
A
more
typical
defender
would have stopped at the point
and tried to throw a puck on
goal.
But not York.
As soon as he caught the pass,
York’s intention was to take it all
the way to the net. He possessed
the confidence and the hands to
create this offense. His ability to
generate scoring opportunities
like this as a defenseman makes
Michigan’s offense all the more
dangerous, especially with a
shot as good as his.
In the second period of a
win against Ohio State last
January, York took the puck off
the faceoff and went to work.
He moved to the left and then
faked a shot before continuing
to skate toward the opposite
faceoff circle. The defender
was anticipating the earlier
shot and York recognized this
and exploited it, catching the
defender flat-footed, causing
him to stumble.
York then loaded up and
shot back across his body to the
right. The goaltender had been
following York as he moved
laterally and York was able to
take advantage and fire into
the space that opened up on the
right side for the goal.
York’s offensive ability goes
beyond scoring, his presence
can wreak havoc on opposing
team’s defenses just by touching
the puck.
In a win over Notre Dame last
February, York took a pass and
stick-handled the puck before
he pulled back and dished it
over to sophomore defenseman
Nick Blankenburg, who ripped
home a shot for the power play
goal. On the surface, all York did
was pass it over, but there’s a lot
more to this assist — drawing
the
defenders
toward
him
opened up a shooting lane in the
center of the ice for Blankenburg
to exploit.
Just the fact that York had the
puck gave the defense a lot to
think about. He had the ability
to score as soon as he collected
the pass. The defender couldn’t
overcommit to blocking the shot,
though, because York could have
made a deke move and took it
down low.
The depth chart may list him
as a defenseman, but York has
proven he’s far more than that.
He’s an all-around weapon for
Michigan to deploy on both ends
of the ice.
JOSH TAUBMAN
Daily Sports Writer
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Sophomore defenseman Cam York was a key part of the Michigan hockey team’s penalty kill last season.
‘It’s using your power for good’: City Police Chief
hoping student-athlete protests lead to change
A sea of maize and blue mixed
with Eastern Michigan’s green
colored the sunny Diag. Cardboard
signs raised over the crowd of
mask-clad heads, broadcasting
the words that have become the
slogan of the summer: “Black
Lives Matter,” “Say their names,”
“Racism is the virus,” “Why not
now?,” “Skin is not a crime” and
many more. Passionate chants
reflecting the written words filled
the silence amid the windy air.
In the middle of it all was Ann
Arbor Police Chief Michael Cox
— a 30-year public safety service
professional
originally
from
Boston. Cox’s son — also named
Michael — played football at the
University of Michigan from
2009-2011 before transferring to
the University of Massachusetts
and going on to get drafted by the
New York Giants. Cox Sr. thought
he had seen the last of Ann Arbor
but came back when offered the
Chief of Police job in 2019.
Cox, who is Black, showed up
off-duty Aug. 30 in support of the
student-athlete-led Black Lives
Matter protest.
“Well, actually I got an invite
to participate or at least show
support for Black Lives Matter,”
Cox said. “And it’s not the first
time I’ve done that.”
There are few who know the
horrors that Black people face
in this country better than Cox.
While undercover in Boston in
1995, he was brutally beaten by
his fellow white police officers.
He was mistaken for a suspect;
the result was extensive head and
kidney damage.
It was reported — in a CBS
Boston article — that Cox was met
with plenty of resistance when
trying to receive compensation
and
the
incident
was
even
attempted to be covered up. He
and his family also faced several
threats from the public and the
police department. Cox ultimately
gained compensation via a civil
rights lawsuit, but the aftermath
over the beating caused even more
damage.
“Being a Black person and
understanding
what
it’s
like
growing up in this world, being
discriminated against and racial
inequalities and all the things that
people talk about — that’s me,” he
said. “I’ve certainly been through a
lot of things.”
Cox, though, refused to leave
the department after the incident.
Within two decades, he rose to
the second-highest position in
the Boston Police Department,
superintendent, and led the Bureau
of Professional Development and
the Police Academy.
Cox certainly does not have a
perfect record; in February he was
placed on administrative leave
due to allegations that he created
a hostile work environment. An
investigation ordered by the City
of Ann Arbor concluded this:
“There is no evidence that the
Chief was behaving in such a way
(yelling, etc.) as to create a hostile
work
environment.
However,
there is evidence that people
feared retaliation by the Chief, and
they had a legitimate basis for that
fear, whether or not that was the
Chief’s intent.”
Still, Cox has dedicated his
career to trying to fix some
of the many issues that police
departments in America have.
“I’ve made it my passion to try
to get rid of some of these things
for as much as I can control and
it’s not easy,” Cox said. “It’s not
easy cause you don’t always have
the support because what happens
on the inside, most people don’t
understand the culture of the
things you have to try and change.”
In the past few months of
protests and marches calling for
an end to mistreatment of Black
people in America, police have
come to the center of attention.
The videos of George Floyd, Jacob
Blake,
Rayshard
Brooks
and
countless others being brutalized
by police officers serve as daily
reminders of the deep flaws in the
justice system.
BRANDON TRACHTENBERG
Daily Sports Writer
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Ann Arbor Police Chief Michael Cox supported Black Lives Matter protests from Michigan’s student-athletes.
Read more online at
michigandaily.com
Michigan parents arrange ‘We want to play’ protest
MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Michigan football players said they would be ready to play at any time during their protest against the Big Ten’s decision to cancel the fall season.
ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Writer