FAYETTEVILLE -- South Carolina Coach Frank Martin hasn't made a huge dent in SEC basketball circles yet, but he made a poignant pitch for race relations on the SEC's summer teleconference for men's basketball last week.
Asked for his stance on the Confederate battle flag that flies over the South Carolina State House in Columbia, S.C., Martin gave a reasoned response.
"It's part of our history," Martin said. "It's part of our fabric. ... It represents what people were willing to die for. There's also another side to the equation, and it's offensive to numerous other folks. So we have to embrace both sides of it. We can't just look at one side and say to heck with the other group.
"I think there's a place for that flag in people's private homes, in museums that represent the Confederate states and the history of South Carolina, but not in public places. A government building and government grounds are a representation of all of our people, not just some of our people."
Other SEC coaches asked about the issue in recent days backed Martin's position, including Arkansas' Mike Anderson, Kentucky's John Calipari and Auburn's Bruce Pearl.
"Obviously most places have taken it down, and why, because of what it symbolizes or represents," Anderson said. "I'm in agreement with the coaches from the standpoint for it to be removed."
Anderson pointed out the movement at Ole Miss -- which began in the late 1990s -- to steer away from the Confederate flag, and the eventual retirement of the school's "Colonel Reb" mascot in 2003.
"Just like at Ole Miss, for some people it was very offensive. And they removed it," Anderson said.
The Conferedate battle flag doesn't fly on the Arkansas Capitol grounds, but three monuments recognize the Conferedacy and its defenders.
Arkansas' state flag has four blue stars -- one of which refers to the Confederate States of America.
The actual Stars and Bars flag of the Confederate States of America has come under more fire recently since a shooting that left nine dead at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., on June 17. The man charged with the shooting -- Dylann Roof -- allegedly posed for pictures with the Confederate flag.
South Carolina football Coach Steve Spurrier and university president Harris Pastides have long expressed their opinions that the Confederate flag should be removed from state property.
Martin, a first-generation American as the son of Cuban immigrants in Miami, spoke passionately about his country and state on the teleconference.
"We can have an African-American as president of the United States," Martin said. "We have a minority female as the governor of our state. We have a gentleman from my neighborhood [Marco Rubio] running for the presidency of the United States of America that has a similar background to mine.
"It's the greatest country in the whole world. Where else, what other country in the world can claim to have such diverse people in leadership positions that presents those opportunities?"
Martin said many outsiders have no idea what living in South Carolina is about.
"This might be the most unified state that I've lived in, as far as the amount of love that people have for one another here, regardless of background or race," he said.
New SEC commissioner Greg Sankey released a statement last week which said, in part, "I support the calls made to remove the prominent displays of the Confederate battle flag, and applaud the leadership demonstrated around this issue."
Sankey reiterated that position on Monday's teleconference.
"It's an important conversation because our athletic programs ... are a key rallying point for our state and our region," he said. "We want to make sure that they're a welcoming circumstance as much as that's possible, when you're a visiting team."
Politicians in other Southern states, such as Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee, have amped up calls for pulling Confederate symbols from state property.
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley ordered the removal of the Confederate flag from government property in his state on June 24.
Kentucky Coach John Calipari said of the Confederate flag, "Obviously it offends a portion of our society so people are deciding to take them down. They offend and I would say [take them down]."
Asked if other symbols of the Confederacy should be removed from public property, Calipari said "Sure, they offend and I would say do it."
Calipari, speaking on the SEC teleconference, seemed unaware that statues of prominent Confederates, such as president Jefferson Davis, were on state land in Kentucky.
"Wow," Calipari said, pausing for a moment. "Since I'm not running for public office, I will let the powers that be decide those matters. I was thinking of running for President and I was discouraged from that."
Sports on 07/05/2015