SIDELINE SCENE: Ocoee coach sends right message on wearing pink

OCOEE  Thinking of high-school football in October, a few things probably come to mind.

Cooler temperatures and important district games are certainly among those things. But in recent years, it’s hard to separate football in October from players wearing pink gear in support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Players are prone to wear pink arm bands, wrist bands, towels, compression sleeves, socks and a host of other accessories. 

Of course, this is generally a good thing — a great thing, actually. 

But, this question often arises. Do the players understand what they’re raising awareness for or are they are simply enjoying an opportunity to wear some cool gear? Many would like to see an increased effort to make sure that players understand the gravity of breast cancer, and cancer in general, so that the symbolism of wearing pink during a game retains its value.

Count Ocoee football head coach Ben Bullock among them.

Many Ocoee football players wore pink during the Knights’ away game Oct. 16 at Lake Howell High School — an important 42-2 district victory for Ocoee. 

What’s cool, though, is that it was a privilege they had to earn. Bullock had his players sell pink support bands and ask for donations to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund (Play4Kay.org) in the weeks leading up to the game. 

To wear pink during the game, they had to reach certain levels of fundraising. 

The net result was the Ocoee High football team raised more than $1,130 for breast cancer research. Moreover, in doing so, it made the pink gear that players wore a little more meaningful to them.

Ocoee is not alone in this, either. While shooting photos at a Pop Warner football game at Olympia High School earlier this month, I heard the public address announcer share facts about breast cancer during breaks in play.

We live in an age in which activism has become surprisingly easy in some ways — whether it’s social media activism, where you can simply tweet out a hashtag and say you stand for something, or the act of wearing a certain color. This isn’t a bad thing, either. 

But it is refreshing to have coaches such as Bullock, who aren’t afraid to remind their players that making a difference sometimes takes a little effort, too.