Today’s post recognizes a phenomenal athlete who is an even more phenomenal young man.
state was great!!!!
pic.twitter.com/HlWtYBXhOu
— Tyreke Smith (@T_23_baller) June 17, 2017
Tyreke Smith, a high school junior football player, is one of the most sought-after athletes in Ohio. The Cleveland Heights High School junior is a four-star defensive end being recruited by some of the country’s top universities, including Ohio State. Tyreke showed up for a recruiting visit to the Columbus, Ohio, school Saturday sporting a T-shirt that read, “I hope I don’t get killed for being black today.”
Some think he might have worn it to remind people of the Tamir Rice case, which happened in Tyreke’s hometown of Cleveland. Others speculate that it was in response to the Philando Castile verdict, which happened the day before Tyreke’s visit. Even though Tyreke says he wanted to bring attention to all of the cases, some think it might have been a slight advertisement for his brother’s company, which sells the shirts.
“He asked me if he should wear it, [and] I said, ‘Absolutely, Tyreke,’” Malik said, explaining how he was the one who made the shirt. “I told him to be ready for people to want to voice their own opinion about the shirt — good or bad. I also told him to be ready to have an answer and be able to fully explain the shirt in great detail. He did just that.”
However, the young, large, strong, athletic-looking 17-year-old might have worn the shirt with the incredibly poignant message for an entirely different reason:
Maybe he actually hopes he doesn’t get killed for being black today.