AUBURN | “Listen. Listen. Listen.”

That’s the lesson Gus Malzahn said he’s learned from his players as protests of racial injustice and inequality continue across the country following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer May 25.

Malzahn, who called Floyd’s murder “completely unacceptable and inhumane,” recently held meaningful and sometimes uncomfortable discussions with his players and coaching staff via videoconference.

“I met with my players, I met with my coaches — I did that separately — and I asked them to share their heart and their feelings with me, and they did. It was very emotional, it was very heartfelt and there were some tears with both groups,” Malzahn said. “Bottom line is I’ve got a team and staff that’s hurting. I think they’re frustrated and in some cases they’re scared, and that breaks my heart.

“This has given me really a new perspective. I wish I would of asked deeper questions sooner or before. This is not just Auburn football players and coaches, they’re part of the Auburn family, and we’re here to help them be leaders for tomorrow. I told my team I’m committed to positive change as a leader. I’m not sure exactly what that looks like now, but I’m going to listen and I’m going to learn.”

Allen Greene, Auburn’s first African-American athletic director, held conversations about race with his staff and a number of student-athletes on Monday.

“A lot of frustration from some of our black student-athletes, not understanding why the world is still the way it is,” Greene said. “Some of the frustration was from our white student athletes as well, wanting to make a difference and learn more about people who are not like them — but not quite sure how to do it.

“Collectively, in my opinion, in the last four days, we've made a lot of progress in our athletics department. As sad as it is to see some of the state of affairs with the prejudice and the racism, I feel very comfortable and confident that our department is coming together. The Auburn family means so much more now to me over these past few days than it has over these past couple of years.”

Greene credited Malzahn for giving him the courage to release a video on Saturday in which he called upon people to listen and engage with others that may have a different perspective.

Will you have the courage to listen and have empathy for a group of people that may not look like you or come from the same neighborhood?

“Someone having their knee on someone’s neck and killing them, that’s wrong; we can all agree on that,” Greene said. “Part of the challenge that makes things difficult is trying to explain how we got to this point and how to explain how we move on from this point. That takes a lot more effort and a lot more work. I’m glad our staff is committed to doing that.”

FULL STATEMENT BT GUS MALZAHN

"I’d like to transition to something that’s kind of been on my mind. I’ve had a heavy heart the last few weeks after watching the recent racial injustices on video. Most recently George Floyd, which is completely unacceptable and inhumane. I’ve been not sure how to really handle or respond so I decided to listen. I met with my players, I met with my coaches — I did that separately — and I asked them to share their heart and their feelings with me, and they did. It was very emotional, it was very heartfelt and there were some tears with both groups. Bottom line is I’ve got a team and staff that’s hurting. I think they’re frustrated and in some cases they’re scared, and that breaks my heart. This has given me really a new perspective. I wish I would of asked deeper questions sooner or before. This is not just Auburn football players and coaches, they’re part of the Auburn family, and we’re here to help them be leaders for tomorrow. I told my team I’m committed to positive change as a leader. I’m not sure exactly what that looks like now, but I’m going to listen and I’m going to learn."

FULL STATEMENT FROM ALLEN GREENE

"Gus, I think your last answer is a great segue to let me share a few comments about what's on my mind. Being a person of color, being black, being African-American, it is a frustrating time. I know Coach talked about hearing from his players and hearing from his coaches. He's heard from me, too. We've had a ton of great conversations. We've had conversations that we wouldn't have expected to have had. But it's made us closer and made us better. I know that he's gotten closer with his players. So, too, have all of our coaches. Last Friday — I guess on Friday — Gus, Bruce and I got on the phone and were just talking about the state of affairs in America, the civil unrest. Really, most importantly, we focused on how the players are feeling. That's black players, white players, everybody in-between.

"Coach Malzahn gave me the courage to put my thoughts together, along with all of our head coaches, and make a statement. Everybody's looking for everybody else for courage. I think we all need to spend some time and energy providing and helping others gain courage. After visiting with our coaches, I had a much better appreciation for where they were coming from, too. I think so many people think this is a one-sided conversation or a one-sided listening tour, where White America needs to listen to Black America. It's both. Black America needs to listen to White America also. There are some conversations that opened my eyes to the unique and different position that some of my colleagues are in. So many people have told me, 'Allen, I don't know what it's like to be black and to be in America. But I know that you are going through some stuff.' And I said, 'Well, I don't know what it's like to be white and to be in America. I know you're concerned and conflicted like I am. It just manifests itself in a different way.'

"We ended up having an all-staff meeting yesterday. Yesterday was a very exhausting day. We had a town hall meeting, and we poured our hearts out to one another. I poured my heart out to my entire staff, and I'm so thankful that so many of our staff members poured their hearts out in front of the entire organization. What you start to realize is that no one's alone in their thoughts and their hurt and their pain and their disgust. It just takes a few people to step on that limb. Someone used that analogy of if you step on that limb, someone is going to step with you. That's what we've seen so far in our athletics department. It makes me feel good, that we can have really difficult, uncomfortable conversations and grow from them.

"Last night, I had a conversation with some student athletes, about 90 of them or so. It was an hour and a half conversation, and they continued on for a little bit longer. I heard a lot of the same things. A lot of frustration from some of our black student-athletes, not understanding why the world is still the way it is. Some of the frustration was from our white student athletes as well, wanting to make a difference and learn more about people who are not like them — but not quite sure how to do it. Collectively, in my opinion, in the last four days, we've made a lot of progress in our athletics department. As sad as it is to see some of the state of affairs with the prejudice and the racism, I feel very comfortable and confident that our department is coming together. The Auburn family means so much more now to me over these past few days than it has over these past couple of years."