There aren't very many non-white swimmers in the United States, but that didn't prevent Lia Neal and Jacob Pebley, Olympic swimmers, from organizing a team to help promote the concept that "Black Lives Matter." These two Olympians have led the efforts to mobilize more than 30 U.S. Olympic, Paralympic and National Team athletes, past and present, to volunteer their time and expertise to the swimming audience by hosting two weeks of daily live webinar shows.
These webinar programs covered a range of topics, including athlete nutrition, mental health, leadership, how to be a leader in your community, life balance, technique advice, plus Q&A and live workout sessions. Each show had a dedicated charity selected by the Swimmers for Change in which audiences could show their support through donations. Swimmers for Change apparel also was available for purchase, and the proceeds went to support charities with the mission of supporting Black communities. These webinars attracted attention all over the U.S.
Jacob Pebley recently stated, "We athletes involved in Swimmers for Change know that Black lives matter and are committed to using our platforms and unique skill sets to champion efforts and education against racial discrimination. The movement will start with us: the athletes that thousands look to for guidance not only in the pool but also in how we choose to live our lives."
Lia Neal won the Olympic bronze medal in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay in 2012 and the silver medal in the same event at Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Jacob Pebley took second place to Olympian Ryan Murphy in 2016, 2017 and 2018 but defeated Murphy during their last meeting. He won the silver Olympic award for the 200-meter backstroke during the last Olympic meet. He was preparing for the Olympic meet in Tokyo when the meet was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Although wanting to give support to all of these athletes, Bob and Linda Box have a special relationship to Jacob Pebley. Jacob is Linda's younger brother, and Bob performed the wedding ceremony for Jacob and Nikki in Oregon. To say that we are proud of his accomplishments and the witness he and others are providing is an understatement.
Editor's note: In a story dated June 30, 2020, on SwimmingWorld.com written by Dan D'Addona, he wrote:
Lia Neal and Jacob Pebley started the Swimmers for Change initiative, looking to unify the sport and promote diversity and equality.
The goal was to mobilize the swimming and sports communities to raise funds to support the fight against systemic racism. They achieved this by hosting two weeks of live webinar content for free, led by many of the biggest names in Olympic swimming. This took place from June 15 to June 26. The main goal was to allow a point for a conversation that could reach a broad audience but also encourage swimmers to have those conversations with each other and raise money for organizations that are helping develop change.
The result was a webinar series that included 30 U.S. national team swimmers having conversations about our country's racial inequality, as well as other issues within the sport and the country.
On Wednesday, July 1, co-founders Lia Neal and Jacob Pebley will be hosting a final "wrapup" episode to share their experience, lessons learned and what's next for Swimmers For Change.
They will also be taking questions from the press and audience (done via live chat or submitted in advance through the Crowdcast webinar platform -- https://www.crowdcast.io/e/swimmers-for-change/13 ).