We Won’t Just “Stick to Sports”: Black Lives Matter

“Stick to sports” is too often the response to sports figures and teams that express their opinions of issues off the field, pitch or court. We've generally stayed away from speaking out to our customers and communities about societal issues. Today, that changes—we'll stick to sports what we believe in: Black lives matter.

The protests of the past week come from a place of pain and years of injustice, and that pain is felt by our customers, our communities and members of our Hudl family.

Sports have played a critical role in history, one of bridging racial divides and helping make progress in the fight for racial justice and equality. Sports have often been at the forefront of integration efforts, even if unintentionally. It has been a site for leveling the playing field by allowing us to put it all out on the field and shift our attention to different allegiances—those of loyalty to our communities and teams.

The great Nelson Mandela said it best: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where there was only despair.”

Coaches are some of the best people to help inspire the change that’s desperately needed, and they play an important role in helping young athletes navigate these complex societal issues that reach far beyond sports.

At Hudl, we take pride in the transparency we have with employees and the value we place on equality in our workplaces, and we work every day to be better. One of our core values is “We’re a family.” We’ve leaned into that value more than ever the past few months due to COVID-19 and we will continue to do so in standing in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. But as any great coach will tell their athletes: don’t just talk about it, be about it. Here are the commitments we're making to the people who work at Hudl and to our customers:

• We stand united in rejecting all forms of hate and discrimination. In addition to the training that is already in place, everyone at Hudl will participate in unconscious bias training as well as enhanced training on diversity, equity and inclusion.
• We still have a long way to go to build out a team that reflects the diversity of the customers we serve and communities in which we live. We will stay accountable to this objective by sharing our diversity report publicly and increasing our investment in more inclusive recruiting and hiring practices.
• We will use our platform to amplify Black voices and seek to increase the diversity of our user community by donating our tools to sports organizations supporting underserved communities of color. We want to help talent everywhere thrive and ensure that all athletes have a chance to build a highlight and get it in the hands of recruiters and scouts.

We all need to be part of the solution. This is our start to doing more. We need to sustain the momentum we’re seeing and bring real change. Black lives matter.

David Graff, CEO