EDISON, N.J. – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Council of Presidents, led by MAAC President and Niagara University President Rev. James J. Maher, C.M., has released the following statement reaffirming their commitment to the MAAC United for Justice campaign and the Black Lives Matter movement on Martin Luther King Jr. Day:
 
"As we as a nation celebrate the legacy of Dr. King, many of us can recall our favorite speeches and quotes from the great reverend. I share with you one of my favorites, as Dr. King often preached, enduring work of racial injustice and inequality calls us to be much more than a thermometer which simply registers the temperature of society. Rather, the legacy of Dr. King calls us to be more like a thermostat, which seeks to regulate the temperature of society and bend the arc of human history towards social and racial justice.
 
"Through the efforts of our student-athletes, coaches, and athletic administrators, this work of being a thermometer is well underway in the MAAC. We celebrate the eternal legacy of Dr. King, in word and deed, proclaiming that Black Lives Matter through the use of our public platforms, our community service, and our MAAC United for Justice initiative. Our student-athlete leaders have chosen the promotion of police reform as a topic to join with others and to seek lasting change.
 
"The long sojourn will continue, let's take this moment to thank God and celebrate the eternal legacy of Dr. King."  - Rev. James J. Maher, C.M.
 
MAAC Gender and Diversity Committee
 
Fairfield University President Mark R. Nemec, PhD, added the following statement on behalf of the MAAC's Gender and Diversity Committee, reaffirming its commitment to racial justice and individual dignity:
 
"As a collection of purpose driven institutions of higher learning, the MAAC and its Gender and Diversity Committee stand committed to doing our part to further a more just and equitable society. With this in mind, our United for Justice campaign is a multi-year effort to give voice and agency to our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and staff. On this day, and in this time, we reaffirm our commitment to racial justice and individual dignity and as individuals and institutions commit to make a difference." - Mark R. Nemec, PhD
 
Time Out for Black Lives
 
The MAAC has also announced new submissions for its Time Out for Black Lives initiative, which aims to inspire and educate youth, athletes, families and fans. Time Out for Black Lives has an interactive website where coaches and student-athletes from MAAC basketball programs contribute their time and resources to read children's books in entertaining videos, all focusing on Black culture, history, music and myths. The newest round of submissions, which will be posted to timeoutforblacklives.com in the following weeks, can be found below.
 

BOOK TITLE	AUTHOR	MAAC NARRATOR
Happy Hair	Mechal Renee Roe	Alexa Wallace Monmouth Women's Basketball
Together for Kwanzaa	Juwan G. Ford	Billi Chambers Iona Women's Basketball
Brown Sugar Babe	Charlotte Watson Sherman	Ashley Williamson Siena Women's Basketball
This Is Your Time	Ruby Bridges	Lynn Milligan Rider Women's Basketball
Tiara's Hat Parade	Kelly Starling Lyons	Erika Joseph Canisius Women's Basketball
Above the Rim: How Elgin Baylor Changed Basketball	Jen Bryant	Greg Paulus Niagara Men's Basketball
Frederick Douglas: Voice for Justice, Voice for Freedom	Frank Murphy	Daryl Banks III Saint Peter's Men's Basketball
Overground Railroad	Lesa Cline-Ransome	Samir Stewart Manhattan Men's Basketball
Our Children Can Soar	Michelle Cook	Jordan Jones Marist Men's Basketball
I Believe I Can	Grace Byers	Taj Benning Fairfield Men's Basketball
A Nigerian Myth: Now We Know Why Hippos Live in the Water	Elphinstone Dayrell	Nelly Junior Joseph Iona Men's Basketball
Before There Was Mozart	Lesa Cline-Ransome	Baker Dunleavy Quinnipiac Men's Basketball

 
MAAC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
 
The MAAC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) recently met with Niagara President Fr. Maher and Siena College President Christopher P. Gibson '86, PhD to discuss current social justice issues, such as police reform, and how MAAC SAAC can act to create lasting change in its communities.
 
"I'm especially impressed and encouraged by the leadership of our MAAC student-athletes," said Siena President Gibson. "In addition to making strong public statements urging America to live up to its aspirations of being a country where we have 'liberty and justice for all,' these student-athlete leaders are committed to working with grassroots organizations and nationally elected leaders to actually affect legislative change in critical areas such as police reform. We are a nation of laws and this is how we will change American culture for the better. I'm very proud of their efforts and look forward to seeing positive results." 
 
MAAC SAAC Social Justice subcommittee Chair Prisca Blamon, a senior member of Monmouth University's women's track and field program, added "We are really looking forward to kickstarting the subcommittee this year. The subcommittee is working on projects with Fr. Maher and Dr. Gibson to join with the Millennial Action Project as well as other foundations to get the ball rolling. Looking forward, the subcommittee has plans to discuss and make impactful change towards issues such as police reform and racial injustices."
 
The MAAC SAAC Social Justice subcommittee looks to:

• Empower the voices of our minority student-athletes.
• Allow student-athletes to raise issues for group discussion.
• Raise awareness and educate others on meaningful causes that create long-lasting social change.
• Work with MAAC coaches and administrators in promoting a more inclusive conference.

 
What's Next
 
MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor provided the following statement in regards of what to expect from the conference as the year continues:
 
"The MAAC is excited to enter into the next phase of the conference's SAAC United for Justice programming. Conference staff will continue to work with SAAC members to develop additional initiatives, including this new round of recordings for the Time Out for Black Lives reading program with our basketball coaches and student-athletes for school children. Additionally, working with the MAAC SAAC Social Justice subcommittee, we will explore having open conversations and dialogues regarding the group's drive to create lasting change through police reform."  
 
About Time Out for Black Lives:
Time Out for Black Lives aims to inspire and educate youth, athletes, families and fans. The initiative has an interactive website where coaches and student-athletes from MAAC basketball programs contribute their time and resources to read children's books in entertaining videos, all focusing on Black culture, history, music and myths. The program comes as part of the MAAC's United for Justice campaign that was announced over the summer.  For more information, visit timeoutforblacklives.com.
 
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) celebrates its 40th year of competition during the 2020-21 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's University, and Siena College.