Keion Brooks says he would like to see Rupp Arena name changed

On Friday, Kentucky sophomore forward Keion Brooks Jr. hopped on a zoom call with local media to discuss his offseason, as well as other news surrounding his team.

Of course, one of the hottest topics lately has been Adolph Rupp and possibly changing the name of Rupp Arena. John Calipari weighed in on it earlier this week, saying he would listen to the concerns about the name and why it should be changed.

Brooks took it a step further, saying that while he needs to educate himself more on Rupp, from what Brooks does know, he would like to see the name changed.

“But from what I do know, I’d like to see a name change, because what his name is and what that’s connected to and what it represents,” he said.

I was on the call, and Brooks was clearly emotional when discussing the topic, as well as fans and their impact when they treat athletes like him as if their only purpose is to entertain fans.

“They just want us to go out there for an hour or two and entertain them. But that’s not going to work,” he said. “That’s not how this is.”

Brooks deserves a lot of credit for being brave enough to speak out about these very sensitive subjects. It’s easy to see why he was appointed to the newly-established SEC Council on Racial Equity and Social Justice, which will find new ways to promote racial equity and social justice (read more about that here).