NORMAN — Lincoln Riley, clad in a black shirt and pants just like his players and assistants, stepped out from the group to say a few words.
But standing there in the Unity Garden having just led a block-long procession that silently marched from OU’s football facility to the South Oval, he said nothing. Not for 15 seconds. Not for 30 seconds.
Finally, the OU football coach swallowed hard, then wiped his eyes.
These have been difficult days for Riley because they have been difficult days for his Black players and assistants, and when he stepped in front of that group, all the unfiltered stories that he’d heard and all the raw emotions that he’d witnessed over the past few days came flooding back.