(Photo: Andrew Jansen/Springfield News-Leader)
Missouri State Athletics Director Kyle Moats announced Thursday the immediate implementation of a department-wide educational initiative that values inclusion of diversity, tolerance and social responsibility.
The plan will call for three initial steps to begin in the 2020-21 academic year and will expand in future years after annual evaluations.
The first phase components include:
- Required annual diversity and sensitivity training for all athletic department employees and student-athletes
- Development of a community engagement program to increase Missouri State student-athlete involvement in local schools and youth sports programs
- Establishment a formal procedure for student-athletes and staff to report discriminatory behavior of any kind, while utilizing existing campus resources when needed to advise students who have experienced discrimination
“We have the capacity to make things better,” Moats said in a news release.