This article discusses anti-Black racism and may be upsetting for readers. The Canadian Mental Health Association Crisis Line can be reached at 1-800-875-6213.
“We are the best program in the country, and we are going to do everything we can to remain there.”
—Dan Valley, head coach of the Women’s Rugby team, after winning the 2021 U-SPORTS National Championship.
“I’m sort of like a freak of habit […] typically, the night before a game, I’ll go through plays, draw up my plays […] I’ll wake up, I’ll read my Bible and pray […] and then go upstairs, make myself five eggs with my bagel every day, and then I’ll come back to my room, sit down, and visualize plays before heading to the stadium.”
—Rasheed Tucker, running back on the Men’s Football team, on his pre-game ritual.
“I think we’ll definitely have to turn our thoughts away from ‘just being grateful to be here’ to ‘how are we going to close the gap and take a serious run out a national championship?’”
—Gabriel deGroot, head coach of Men’s Volleyball, on the team’s seventh-place finish at Nationals in 2022.
“There’s so much we can do as individuals, as athletes […] You’re very privileged, because you have a voice, you actually get a chance to speak out, you actually get a chance to be noticed in your community […] I just want people to be aware that racism exists, and there is something that they can personally do about it.”
—Sheridon Baptiste, Queen’s alum and former Olympian, on the social power of varsity athletes.
“I don’t know, it’s almost like this toxic relationship […] it can put you into a lot of lows, but at the same time, it’s also in my mind one of the most beautiful and simple things you can do.”
—Branna MacDougall, former Queen’s Cross-Country Runner, on her relationship with running.
“I’m jealous that I don’t get to play.”
—Pat Lynott, former Gaels Men’s Rugby player, after being hired as the team’s new assistant head coach.
“The reality of our world is […] we are in a division with three of the top five teams in the country: Carleton, Ottawa, and [X University] […] and a good number of our playoff exits have come when we’ve hit one of those three teams […] We haven’t felt like when we’ve gotten to the playoffs that we have underperformed, [we just haven’t] been able to pull off the upset that we’ve needed to pull off.”
—Stephan Barrie, head coach of Men’s Basketball team, prior to the 2021-22 season. The Gaels went on to eliminate both Ottawa and Carleton in the OUA playoffs and qualify for their first national championship in program history.
“And I say this, because for me growing up, as a young Black athlete, I never saw people that look like me in positions of power within sport […] I never had a Black head coach for the longest while, and that created the narrative, and the perception that Black males are Black athletes. We’re just supposed to stay in the athlete box.”
—Kwame Osei, assistant coach of the Men’s Football team, following the findings of the OUA’s
Anti-Racism Report.
“I think we all thought that we definitely had a good chance, but you never know. It’s one day. Anything can happen, especially in golf.”
—Zachary Greigenberger, Queen’s golf player, after Queen’s won the OUA championship in 2021. Griegenberger finished second overall in the tournament.
“Whatever path life takes you down next, never forget there’s always a seat waiting for you at the head of any table I’m sitting at, Captain.”
—Kevin Bailie, former Queen’s Goalie, on the Men’s Hockey’s team’s graduating captain, Patrick Sanvido.
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