How U.S. Figure Skaters Are Standing Up For Black Lives And Pledging To Diversify Their Sport

Adam Rippon has a combined following of more than 1.3 million across Instagram and Twitter. He is a public figure revered by up-and-coming figure skaters, members of the LGBTQ+ community, pop culture fans and others who look to him for inspiration and laughs.
 
It's clear that when he posts, people listen.
 
So when Rippon, who is white, saw the viral video of a white police officer killing African American George Floyd, he knew he wanted to take action and use his platform to encourage his followers to do the same.
 
Floyd's death was one of several acts of violence against Black people in 2020 that led to the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement.
 
"I was inspired to share what I was doing, because especially in this moment in history, I don't want to be on the sidelines of it," said Rippon, the 2016 U.S. champion and 2018 Olympic Team Event bronze medalist. "I don't think I've seen anything like it in my life, and when I look back at this moment for racial equality, I really want to be able to say I was involved as much as I possibly could have been.
 
"I think it's important to post about Black Lives Matter on social media because it's what's going on in the world. I think sometimes – especially in skating – we might get consumed with what's going on in our bubble, but outside of that there is so much going on. As an athlete you have a lot of people looking to what you might have to say on social media."
 
Of the 17 posts Rippon made to his Instagram page since late May, 13 are in support of Black Lives Matter. They include photos from protests he attended, an explanation of the holiday Juneteenth, a video where he states the names of Black people who were wrongfully killed, a pledge for a donation in support of Black transgender people and a post sharing the story of skater Mabel Fairbanks, the first African American inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame who in the 1930s was denied access to competitions because of the color of her skin.
 
As a coach, Fairbanks went on to team up World champion pairs skaters Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner. In 1976, Babilonia, who is multiracial, became the first U.S. Winter Olympian of African American descent.  
 
"In the same way people spoke up for me in different times in my life, I wanted my friends in the Black and Brown communities to know I would do whatever I could to show that I love them and I would stand up for them," Rippon said. He came out as gay in 2015 in an issue of SKATING magazine.
 
Pounding the Pavement
 
Rippon also took his actions to the streets.
 
He went to so many protests in California that he couldn't figure out the number – recalling a large one in the Hollywood area and several smaller ones in Pasadena, where he just moved, that he went to nearly daily for a week or two.
 
"It was good timing for boxes," he joked, explaining that the boxes used in his move in May quickly became Black Lives Matter signs.
 
"There was a protest at city hall almost every day," said Rippon, who went to most of them solo. "I really wanted to share that I was going to these protests because I think for a lot of people, they felt like if they weren't at a bigger one it wouldn't be as impactful, but I felt so grateful to be at a smaller one."
 
In a more intimate setting, Rippon was able to hear from those living in his new community about their encounters with racism. He described his experiences at the protests as "really powerful" and "always peaceful."
 
"The whole point of going there is to show up and be supportive and listen, especially for me as a cis white person," Rippon said. "One of the most important things I could do is really listen, and it's been a really educational time for me. I've really listened to stories of different racial aggressions of my Black and Brown friends in the skating community and outside of it. I've learned a lot about different Black skaters in the past that I did not know about or didn't even know who they were. It's been really enlightening, and I've gotten to hear so many stories from people, and I feel like I've learned more about Black history and American history than I really ever did in school."
 
Other skaters who have taken part in protests include 1988 Olympic champion Brian Boitano, 2019 U.S. junior champion Ryan Dunk and 2017 World Junior ice dance champion Rachel Parsons.
 
"Sitting at home and being angry wasn't doing enough. I wanted to protest. I wanted to physically be there," Parsons told Bethesda Magazine of the protest she went to near the White House.
 
The 2018 NHK Trophy medalist made her way to the front line of the June 1 protest in a failed attempt to speak to police officers.
 
Parsons told the magazine the peaceful protest was escalated by the police and she was hit below her collarbone by a rubber bullet.
 
The next morning, a photo of Parsons helping a Black man run from approaching police horses was on the front page of The Washington Post. A different photo, taken from behind, shows the back of Parson's shirt, which in her handwriting says, "If the shooting starts, stand behind me." 
 
Using Their Platforms
 
Nearly 100 known current and former Team USA skaters have used their public platforms to show support of Black Lives Matter this year.
 
Those promoting social justice run the gamut from Olympic champions from the 1980s—like Boitano and Scott Hamilton—to 2020 World Junior ice dance champions Avonley Nguyen and Vadym Kolesnik.
 
Nearly all of these skaters posted solid Black images to their accounts on June 2 in support of #BlackoutTuesday, a day in which people were also encouraged to pause all business and reflect on the racism in the United States. Several also added a link to their social media profiles that provided further links for where to donate, sign petitions, find educational resources, and how to protest safely.
 
In a sport that has historically been predominantly white and Asian American in the U.S., many skaters expressed that though they have not experienced racism firsthand and will never know it, they support the Black Americans who have.
 
Jason Brown posted, "I know I cannot fully understand, but I stand with you," while fellow 2014 Olympic Team Event bronze medalist Gracie Gold shared a graphic saying, "I understand that I will never understand. However, I stand."
 
1998 Olympic champion Tara Lipinski wrote: "I have never walked in a Black person's shoes and I will never understand. But I am going to listen and learn. I think this quote sums it up perfectly. I am not Black, but I see you. I am not Black, but I hear you. I'm not Black, but I mourn with you. I am not Black, but I will fight for you."
 
Athletes posted to encourage donations to a range of relevant organizations from Minnesota Freedom Fund to The Okra Project, Black Visions Collective to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
   
Emilia Murdock, a U.S. medalist at the juvenile, intermediate and junior levels, is selling skating-themed sticker sheets on her website with the profits going to Figure Skating in Harlem, which she wrote is "an organization that empowers girls of color by providing them with access to figure skating and education. Truly an amazing and inspiring organization that I can't wait to support and help give back to!"
 
Others encouraged their followers to take any action they could.
 
"Get involved, if you're uncomfortable, ask questions, seek out resources to further your understanding. Start a conversation, but also LISTEN," 2014 Olympic Team Event bronze medalist Ashley Wagner wrote.
 
2019 U.S. junior champion ice dancer Caroline Green posted: "Educate yourself and others and hold your leaders accountable."
 
Charlie White, a three-time Olympic ice dance medalist, encouraged followers to examine their own thoughts with the following, which was one part of a four-Tweet thread: "If you ever feel like the proper response is 'All Lives Matter,' it only shows you're uncomfortable admitting to yourself/ unable to come to terms with/actively profiting off of the fact that our society is built on inequality. That's ignorance and the insidious heart of racism."
 
2006 World champion Kimmie Meissner's accounts read like a diary of her thoughts as they progressed, starting with the following on May 28: "I just can't convey the pain and disgust I'm feeling. I can barely watch the video. I feel shame and guilt and hopeless. And I'm a privileged white woman. Can you imagine what POC feel? We need to be better. We have to be."
 
Three days later, Meissner shared her thoughts as she remained unable to sleep at 3:37 a.m., which included, "There's an anger and sadness and some undefined emotion in me. I close my eyes, try to shut it out. But I see them; my brothers and sisters, gone from this world over the color of their skin and I am suddenly drenched in the sins of my country."
 
Starr Andrews' Firsthand Experience
 
One of the most poignant posts—which was widely shared and commented on by fellow skaters and fans alike—came from Starr Andrews, one of the only Black figure skaters on the international circuit.
 
The 19-year-old said she took a break from social media following the death of George Floyd because the constant media coverage took a toll on her.
 
"I was very emotional, and I actually had to get off social media because it was too much," Andrews said. "Seeing all this on Instagram and Snapchat, it was very overwhelming, and I had to get off of it because I would cry all the time."
 
On June 8, she returned to the platform to make a statement of her own.
 
"I had been wanting to write it for a while, but I was very emotional while writing it, and I tried to write it before but I just broke out in tears. So I waited a little bit until I could write it and not cry a whole lot," Andrews said about her Instagram post.
 
Her post read, in part: "I am a Black woman. I am one of the very few Black women to represent a country on the international figure skating circuit. I have been skating basically my whole life, and it has come with a handful of challenges. I am beyond blessed to be able to represent my community in a sport that is predominantly white. I used to cry about being the only Black girl to represent USA wondering why there weren't more people like me. As I've gotten older, I've realized how special and fortunate I am to have made it so far in such a political sport. Every time a little Black girl comes up to me, it makes me emotional because I used to be that little girl. I always tell them you can do anything you set your mind to. I'm not only skating for myself, but for every other little girl, boy, or any African American out there who thinks they can't do it."
 
The 2017 U.S. junior silver medalist and two-time sixth-place finisher at the senior level has become accustomed to being one of the only Black ladies' skaters at any competition—if not the only.
 
"Sometimes it's a good thing, most times it's a bad feeling," she said of standing out at assignments.
 
Andrews credits her mother, Toshawa, with helping her advance as far as she has in the sport and in life. Toshawa has helped flip the narrative and reminds Starr that being Black makes her special.
 
"Thanks to her, I've loved being different because it makes me stand out and I'm not like anybody else," Andrews said.
 
Her next big goal is to make it to the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 and follow in the footsteps of such skaters as Debi Thomas, who became the first African American to medal at the Winter Games when she won bronze in 1988.
 
"I want to go to the Olympics, and I want to show everyone that nothing is impossible and you can do whatever you put your mind to."
 
Diversifying the Ice
 
If the world's top skaters have it their way, Andrews won't be the only Black skater on the ice for long.
 
Black Lives Matter has helped shed light on issues within various industries and in the sports world, including diversifying figure skating.
 
One positive outcome of the resurgence of the movement has been the renewed intention of many skaters to increase the number of Black skaters in the sport, which even on a global level has long been dominated by white and Asian skaters.
 
"I think when our workplaces and our jobs and our passions reflect the world we actually live in, they prosper, and I think the more people we have involved in skating and the different kinds of people we have in skating, it will only push it to greater places than we ever thought we could go," Rippon said.
 
Joel Savary has been working on this initiative since well before this year.
 
The skating coach, who helped his brother Emmanuel—2009 U.S. intermediate champion and current senior-level competitor—with his rise in the sport, founded the Diversify Ice Foundation nearly four years ago. The organization, based in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia area, holds events to expose minorities to figure skating, and also provides sponsorship and mentorship opportunities to help underrepresented populations remain in the sport.
 
"When I skated, my family didn't have enough money to afford skating. Then my brother started skating and the cost was so expensive, so I had to use a lot of my own skills as a coach to coach him for free when we couldn't afford our own coaches," Joel Savary said.
 
He pulled from his own experiences to create Diversify Ice and help put future generations on a path to success. Savary also released a book on the subject—"Why Black And Brown Kids Don't Ice Skate: A Discourse on the Disparity of Race in Figure Skating"—in January of this year, which soon became far more relevant.

Last month, Savary and 2007 U.S. junior champion Eliot Halverson led the creation of a video where skaters from around the world committed to diversifying the sport. The video included Americans Rippon, Wagner and White, along with 2018 pair World bronze medalist Vanessa James of France, three-time ice dance World medalist Kaitlyn Weaver of Canada and four-time ice dance world medalist Guillaume Cizeron from France, among others.
 
"I believe that Black and Brown skaters are what make our sport so beautiful," James says in the video.
 
"We are morally obligated to come together and fix this," White continues.
 
The video ends with all skaters saying, "I take the pledge to use my voice for change. Will you?"
 
Calls have already begun between Savary and a community of global skaters to work on moving the goal—and the sport—forward.
 
"I loved it, and I would love to see even more stuff like that," Andrews said about the video. "It's just awesome. As time goes by, I think the sport will get more diverse, and it takes time because it takes a very long time to master the sport. I think as time passes the sport will get more diverse, especially with the Black Lives Matter movement; it just brings a lot of awareness."
 
Figure skating is an expensive sport, and the cost has long been a leading factor in deterring people of color from entering—or continuing in—the sport.
 
Savary recalls seeing talented minority skaters when he was coming up in the sport and wondering where they disappeared to a couple years later, only to find out they were priced out of the sport.
 
He also points to issues with underrepresented skaters feeling they are judged unfairly and feeling alone or excluded at the rink because of their skin color, as well as misinformation spreading in regards to how to advance in the sport.
 
"These are the kind of stories that I felt many minority skaters might need to be educated about. I just really wanted this to be a book that educates and also uplifts the skaters in the sport. I did that by sharing my story and some of the unpleasant experiences that I had, and highlighting a path forward, not only for minority skaters but changes that may need to be made for governance and various communities—an action plan for what can change the sport for the better and rejuvenate it for the better," Savary said of his book.
 
Andrews also explained that a lack of support in a sport that takes years to grasp has led to Black athletes abandoning their careers.
 
"People told me, 'No, you're not going to make it,' and kids are told that all the time," she said. "I think it's really sad because this sport takes a long time to master. It takes a year or two to get a jump consistent, and when someone's telling you that you can't do it, it's really hard to continue and believe in yourself. I think when you have that support system, it really helps a lot because the sport's really hard—but it's also really fun. It is very fun."
 
Rippon added, "I think it's skaters like Starr who will help make other young African American skaters feel more included."
 
He explained the importance of representation, pointing to how five-time European champion Surya Bonaly's stardom in the 1990s has led to France having one of the most diverse teams in the world today, as well as how the success of Michelle Kwan and other Asian American skaters leading to a surge of popularity and success in the sport among that demographic in the U.S.
 
"When you see a little bit of yourself in those moments, it changes your whole perspective of what's possible," Rippon said. "It doesn't start at the level of why aren't we seeing Black people compete in figure skating at the Olympics; I think it starts with how can we get more Black people involved, and once we have them involved, there will be more African American skaters at the Games. But you can't question why they aren't there when we haven't worked on getting them access."
 
Editor's note: In response to the overwhelming outcry from its Team USA athletes, the U.S. Figure Skating Board of Directors has established a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion working group to look into how the sport can be more inclusive and welcoming to Black and Brown skaters. Initial recommendations to the board are expected in August.