Op-Ed: Aaliyah Moore Meets The Moment in Calling Out Attacks on DEI

By: Zachary Draves

First it was Critical Race Theory (CRT). Then it was black history. Then it was books on the LGBTQ+ community. Then it was Bud Light. Then it was Target. 

Now the latest boogeyman in the ongoing backlash towards anything and everything that is perceived as “woke” are educational and workplace initiatives centered on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). 

Various states including Oklahoma, Utah, Tennessee, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Texas have either passed or implemented legislation that seeks to drastically cut DEI programs in education and/or eliminate them altogether. There have also been attacks on mandatory diversity training programs and diversity initiatives in hiring practices. 

If that wasn’t enough, there are some that are claiming DEI somehow jeopardizes airline safety with absolutely no shred of evidence that diversifying the cockpit puts your life at risk. 

Anyone with a social consciousness and a grip on reality should be able to acknowledge the absurdity it is to pour all this effort into pushing back against what is truly American and that is our diversity. 

Luckily one of those who are willing to state in the obvious is University of Texas-Austin basketball player Aaliyah Moore. 

(Courtesy: Adam Davis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Last Tuesday, Moore took to X/Twitter to share images that she was notified that the University was closing its Multicultural Engagement Center as of Jan. 1 in accordance with SB17, a bill that passed last April that bans diversity programs at public universities. Her post read “Really heartbreaking. I’ve had multiple classes and have met some incredible people and Professors in the MEC. It’s a safe space for EVERYONE and it’s a shame that it’s been taken away.”

The post was reposted by media personality and HerHighlight founder Arielle Chambers who called it “disgustingly regressive” as well as Tua Riley, Assistant Athletic Director, Compliance at The University of Memphis who said “More than a recruiting disadvantage—it’s a student-athlete experience & well-being issue! Continue to check on your student-athletes.”

It turns out that Riley has a point. DEI is actually beneficial to sustaining a vibrant athletics program. 

According to the ESEI International Business School in Barcelona, not only does DEI help to create a diverse environment for all to enjoy the pleasure of playing sports, but it helps to shatter stereotypes, create social cohesion, build strong communities, and bring people together. 

Former Miami and Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar wrote in his book Learning to Scramble, that while he was playing for the Hurricanes, it was diversity that helped build a strong foundation that helped carry the Hurricanes to the 1983 national title. 

“We forged a brotherhood that overcame all the obstacles, and in the process, we became a symbol for the whole troubled city of Miami of what could be accomplished by a group of guys who put aside their differences and scrambled back from their collective adversities,” he said. 

(Courtesy: AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Not only that, but there is an economic benefit to DEI in sports. 

Through diversifying, sports are able to tap into differing markets and reach a wide array of audiences. History has shown that through areas such as integration in pro sports, the growth of women’s sports, and the visibility of LGBTQ+ athletes, there has been a correlation between representation and return on investment.

So there is a whole range of benefits that convey that DEI is essential for sports to thrive as it is for society. 

Aaliyah Moore understands that in part because she is of a generation that is the most diverse and where seeing all the colors of the rainbow is natural. Efforts to take that away will not be ignored and met with just as much, if not more, of a pushback. 

It would be wise for those lawmakers, especially those who want to reach more voters, to take her word, because whether they know it or not, you can actually stay relevant with a rainbow coalition. 

She has met the moment and now the ball is in their court.