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Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes passionately speaks out against racial inequality

Jeff Eisenberg
·Senior writer
Nigel Hayes (AP)
Nigel Hayes (AP)

One of college basketball’s most candid athletes spoke out against racial inequality on Wednesday night after police shootings in Tulsa and Charlotte sparked widespread outrage and protest.

Wisconsin forward Nigel Hayes began a barrage of Tweets with one referencing the growing debate over racial bias in policing.

Hayes’ tweet coincided with intense, violent demonstrations in downtown Charlotte over the shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott the previous night. Police claim Scott, 43, wielded a gun and refused to obey orders, but Scott’s relatives insist he was unarmed and holding only a book.

Only days earlier, an unarmed black man whose vehicle stalled in the middle of an Oklahoma road was killed by an officer. Just before the shooting, 40-year-old Terence Crutcher can be seen in police video walking away from officers and toward his SUV with his hands raised above his head.

When some of Hayes’ Twitter followers took issue with his initial tweet, the Wisconsin forward stood his ground and responded passionately and eloquently.

Hayes is the second prominent Wisconsin player this month to use his platform in hopes of educating people or instigating change. Last weekend, teammate Bronson Koenig drove to North Dakota to join fellow Native Americans protesting the construction of an oil pipeline that would threaten the local water supply and sacred tribal land.

This is not the first time Hayes has spoken out on a social issue of importance to him. Hayes previously has lambasted the NCAA for its amateurism policies that prevent high-profile college athletes from obtaining some of the income they help generate.

As the leading returning scorer on a preseason top 15 team, Hayes has sufficient stature to draw attention to his causes. The 6-foot-8 senior contributed to a pair of Final Four teams in 2014 and 2015 and nearly entered the NBA draft last spring after helping the Badgers get back to the Sweet 16.

It will be interesting to see if Hayes follows in the footsteps and LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Colin Kaepernick and continues to draw attention to issues of racial inequality. At least one member of the Wisconsin state assembly appears hopeful Hayes continues to speak out.

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!