Holtmann talks first reaction to Towns' detainment
Chris Holtmann and his wife, Lori, were on vacation in Hilton Head, South Carolina, last Friday night when the fourth-year Ohio State basketball coach got a direct message on social media.
He couldn't figure out what was happening in the video on first glance, but upon closer inspection, Holtmann saw a face he recognized.
"Is that Seth?" Holtmann said.
Harvard graduate transfer and Columbus, Ohio, native Seth Towns was detained by police downtown while protesting the death of George Floyd Friday.
Holtmann said Thursday in a webinar with Ohio State's Sports and Society Initiative that it was the first time he didn't have a pit in his stomach to learn that one of his players had gotten in trouble with the law.
“I just had a great amount of respect and appreciation for him speaking his heart and pursuing what he believes and holding true to his convictions,” Holtmann said.
Holtmann said he got in touch with Towns' mother around 10:30 p.m. and learned that the former Northland High School attendee was alright. Shortly thereafter, Holtmann got on FaceTime with Towns.
"I said, ‘Hey, I want you to know I’m not upset. I don’t want you to feel like I’m upset, and I don’t want you to feel like you’ve, in any way, embarrassed the program because you haven’t,'" Holtmann said. "'As a matter of fact I’m proud of the fact that you have done what you believe and what your convictions are.'"
On Sunday, Towns appeared on ESPN to talk about the incident. Towns said participating in the protests is "doing your duty as a member of this democracy."
"There is a huge dilemma in this country right now that needs to be addressed, and I won't shut up. I won't stop," Towns said on ESPN. "I will continue to use my voice to speak out for the people who aren't heard, and that's what I did. Voice is so important. And when I say voice, I'm not talking about speaking, per se. I'm talking about actions."
Holtmann said that he has always hoped to have conversations outside of basketball with his team and staff. One such conversation took place in the locker room last year, when Holtmann said players and coaches shared their experiences with racism.
“It was so valuable for me to hear that, for all of our white players to hear that," Holtmann said. We had staff that shared experiences. It was a really powerful time in our locker room, and this conversation just continues that.”
A discussion with some players surrounding the ongoing protests took place Friday, but Holtmann said there was a team meeting Monday to continue the dialogue. Holtmann said that parents of some players were involved in the discussions as well.
On Tuesday, Ohio State student-athletes held a peaceful protest outside of Ohio Stadium, where they kneeled down for nine minutes –– the amount of time a police officer kneeled on Floyd's neck in Minneapolis on May 25.
Holtmann said he has no expectation that Towns will halt his protesting efforts any time soon.
“What we saw him do the other day comes from his heart, and there’s a real purpose behind that and it’s a real strong-held conviction,” Holtmann said. “I was just really proud of him for doing that, and for his continued efforts, because it doesn’t stop with what happened on Friday night downtown.”