Notre Dame Football Coach Brian Kelly Taking Action Against Racism

Notre Dame has been very outspoken when it comes to racial injustice in recent weeks. 

In fact, Notre Dame has given its student-athletes the ability to use the University's platforms to voice their emotions and thoughts. 

Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly has made it clear he's behind his African-American players and held a team meeting last week to address his team, but also to listen to his team. 

"We've already spoken," Kelly stated on Tuesday. "We spoke last Monday in a full team meeting; we've also had unit meetings regarding a very difficult topic, especially for white men to talk about and that is racism. It needed to be addressed and the first thing is that our players needed to be heard. There was anger and confusion and they needed to talk. We were able to allow our players to also have a platform through using our social media platforms to be heard."

Listening was the first step for Kelly as he then created a Unity Council within the program. 

"Being heard, a vocal part of it is one thing, we've got be actionable," explained Kelly. "We've set up a Unity Council within our program that will be represented by our players that will start within our program to address any racial inequities that we have.

"We'll then look towards campus as to where we can be a change-mover. We'll look to local government to where we can be effective, and we'll look to national government. It's one thing to talk about it and you have to talk about it and you have to be heard, but it has to be actionable." 

The council will be made up of players, but also support staff and individuals around the football program. 

"It will not just be players," Kelly explained. "We will have some support staff that is on the council as well. We're going to have a cross-section. Male, female, African-American, black, white, Hispanic - we think it really needs to be a great cross-section. Bring your voice and allow us to really do some really neat things."

Kelly has listened and given his players an outlet for future discussion, but his staff wasn't stopping there. 

Assistant coach after assistant coach also made public statements over Social Media supporting the African-American community.

"From a coaching staff, I wanted them to be free to express their own feelings and their own opinion," said Kelly. "So that wasn't crafted, that wasn't talked about, that wasn't held in a meeting form.

"The only meeting that was held was to bring our team together and really give them a platform and opportunity to voice their concerns and what we needed to do differently."

Kelly might have been aggressive within the walls of The Gug to make sure his team knows where he stands, but he's not stopping there.

On SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt, Kelly stated he felt he failed as a leader when it came to racial injustice. 

He wasn't referring to his players specifically, but rather in general. Kelly and his wife, Paqui, have run the Kelly Cares Foundation for several years and focused on Health and Education. 

Kelly believes some of that focus will now change. 

"I've run a foundation for the last 10 years that has made incredible change and affected hundreds of people's lives in a positive way," said Kelly. "I sit here now and I look at our country see the systemic cultural racism that is still there. I feel I missed it. If I could have been focused on something was still there, I could have made a difference.

"My wife and I are focusing our attention in other areas. Irradicating systemic racism is one of those areas."