Alabama players help elect first black SGA president in 40 years

Published Mar. 13, 2015 1:40 p.m. ET

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Teddy Mitrosilis

The University of Alabama held its Student Government Association elections this week, and Elliott Spillers was elected president for 2015-16, making him the school's first black SGA president in 40 years and only the second in the association's 100-year history.

This news doesn't have much to do with sports, admittedly, and if you don't care and want to stop reading here, fair enough.

But given the events at the University of Oklahoma this week -- where the football players are mobilizing to fight against racist culture in their community and spread a message of inclusion -- Spillers' victory feels relevant and significant. 

Why? Because students, including student-athletes, care about these issues and are playing active roles in furthering discussions. 

Spillers -- a junior studying business management with a minor in political science, who is also a member of the Honors College -- had Alabama running back Kenyan Drake and punter JK Scott, along with men's basketball player Retin Obasohan and many other students, pushing his campaign.

They shot a Facebook message for Spillers:

They participated in a photo shoot:

And Drake used his Twitter audience (more than 65,000 followers) to drive attention to Spillers' campaign throughout the week:

The point here isn't to build up Spillers' election as a monumental moment in Alabama history -- I feel completely unqualified to comment on what it actually means for the university and state -- but it's notable in a place where, as recent as a year ago, some corners of the Greek system at Alabama were still struggling to understand the concept on integration.

"It can be really frustrating and you can become disillusioned, living in this state and going to this school," Mark Hammontree, Spillers' campaign manager, told AL.com after Spillers' win on Tueday. "It's really easy to think things aren't going to change. But tonight shows that we're ready for it. We took a huge step forward tonight."

Spillers was among those who participated in the 50th anniversary ceremony in Selma last weekend, where President Obama gave a speech about the events that occured in 1965 in response to the Voting Rights Act, writing on his Facebook page, "Volunteering with the Selma Jubilee reminds me how far Alabama has come, and how much further we have to go."

Where Alabama, and inclusion across college campuses at large, goes from here is still undecided. Students like Spillers and those who supported him, like Kenyan Drake and JK Scott and many more, will carve that path in time.

And for those who wanted this to be about sports, well, there's this: Nick Saban finished third in the SGA elections, receiving six write-in votes.

Teddy Mitrosilis works in content production at FOX Sports Digital. Follow him on Twitter @TMitrosilis and email him at tmitrosilis@gmail.com.

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