Four Bulldogs Represent State at Black Student-Athlete Summit

by Josh Lively, Assistant Director/Communications

Four Mississippi State Bulldogs had the opportunity to attend this year's Black Student-Athlete Summit, which focused on the importance of mental health and well-being of black student-athletes.

"It was a really empowering couple of days for our black student-athletes to A) see people that look like them in positions of influence and power and B) understand the importance of mental health," said Ben Rodriguez, Assistant Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Development.

"If you talked to our student-athletes, they will tell you that they felt inspired. There were things that they wanted to bring back to campus, so I am excited to see if we can create some initiatives as it specifically relates to black and minority student-athletes. They face a different set of challenges. The Black Student-Athlete Summit creates a space for these student-athletes to feel like people care about them and their experiences."

Aaron Brule and Stewart Reese from football along with Shayla Broughton of track and field and soccer's Hailey Farrington-Bentil made up the four representatives from MSU. Along with Rodriguez, Dr. Aaron Goodson, Assistant Director of Counseling and Sport Psychology, and Executive Senior Associate A.D./Senior Woman Administrator Ann Carr also attended the conference on behalf of Mississippi State.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to attend the Black Student-Athlete Summit and to represent Mississippi State Athletics," said Broughton. "The event was very eye opening, and I'm pleased to have had the chance to network with black businessmen and women. I'm thankful for the chance to connect with other student-athletes and being able to share common goals and aspirations within sports and life after. It was an amazing experience and it'll be one that I'll never forget."

The event is an opportunity for people from around the country to get together and share their personal experiences as student-athletes. Groups also discussed the importance of current trends within collegiate athletics and the need to have an understanding of the current landscape. Each day had networking opportunities for the attendees to meet professionals and other student-athletes.

"This was my first year attending the BSA Summit, and I'm so blessed to have gotten the opportunity to learn from very wise individuals there," said Farrington-Bentil. "I loved every second of the summit from learning about mental health to interacting with a wide variety of student-athletes and sharing our stories. Not only did I make close connections with other athletes, it made me think about life after sports and what my passion is in life. I came back to Starkville extremely empowered and ready to spark change in my community. I hope to go back next year and to spread the knowledge that I've learned from the amazing week in Austin, Texas."

Emmy Award-winning journalist Jemele Hill, a senior staff writer at the Atlantic and formerly a senior columnist at ESPN, headlined this year's event. Coaches, professors and high-level administrators from around the nation held numerous other sessions that were available to the attendees throughout the three-day summit.

"During the opening statements of the event, the founder of the summit, Dr. Leonard Moore, acknowledged all of the different athletic directors in attendance," said Rodriguez. "He ended it with, 'I want to give a shout out to the athletic director at Mississippi State, John Cohen. He's not here, but he has supported this event since day one. Even when he is not here, he makes sure to get his student-athletes here because he recognizes how important this stuff is.' I thought that was cool to get a shout out from the guy who organizes the entire thing. It was cool to walk around with the M-State logo on our chest."

Brule: Three Quotes that Stood Out from BSA Summit

During the Black Student-Athlete Summit, three quotes stayed with football's Aaron Brule. The redshirt freshman linebacker discussed why these three quotes stood out to him during the event.

"History repeats itself."
Out of all the great things I've learned from this summit, this quote stuck out to me the most. "History repeats itself." Today, we live in a world where what you say will carry with you for the rest of your life. When I read this quote, I think of athletes that have been in the position to be drafted very high and maybe have had tweets brought back up from when they were in high school at the ages of 14 or 15. In reality, we feel that we may have changed as a human from the time your 14 to 23 years old. Either way it still will come back to haunt you and can cost you millions of dollars sometimes. When I think of this quote, I think about how we can change history without black athletes being portrayed as controversial or being held out of the league because they don't want the truth being spread worldwide and big changes being made.

"When things don't go my way, I tend to work even harder."
This quote is very common these days with athletes. I feel that everybody says that they work even harder because that's what this generation is immune to saying. They hear so many other people saying the same thing. In reality, few are actually putting in the work. I think we need to make a change in that aspect as athletes. Let's walk the walk instead of talking the talk so much!

"Athletes are unprepared for the college life but are heavily recruited to perform for a university."
Lastly, this quote changed my experience and also made me question myself as to if I was really ready for college when I came in. Many may say they are prepared. Parents have tried their best to make sure that you are prepared to the maximum, but there is always going to be that stepping stone you are not really ready for. Whether it's living on your own, being able to go out with no curfew or hanging with who you want. For athletes, it's managing free time, your sport and school. Being able to adjust is the key, making changes within yourself to have a positive impact on yourself first and then being able to help the ones around you.

For the most up-to-date information, follow MSU Student-Athlete Development on Twitter by searching for "HailStateSADev."

Mississippi State University Athletics

Four Bulldogs Represent State at Black Student-Athlete Summit

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