For Harvard coach Tommy Amaker, class is always in session

FILE - In this Dec. 22, 1961, file photo, Cleveland Pipers coach John McLendon, right, greets Dick Barnett, in Cleveland. When George Floyd died under the knee of a Minneapolis policeman, Harvard basketball coach Tommy Amaker knew it was time to get to work. Kentucky college basketball coach John Calipari and Harvard coach Tommy Amaker partnered on an internship program named for John McLendon, one of basketball’s first black coaches. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - In this Jan. 2, 2019, file photo, Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker reacts during an NCAA college basketball game against North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C. When George Floyd died this spring under a policeman's knee, Amaker didn't send out a tweet affirming Black Lives Matter or add a uniform patch calling for Equality. He simply continued exposing his players to social justice issues, as he had been doing for more than a decade, establishing the program as a model for other teams only now showing an interest. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, file)

FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2018, file photo, comedian Dave Chappelle, center, shares a light moment with philanthropist Pamela Joyner, left, and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, right, on stage during W.E.B. Du Bois Medal award ceremonies at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. When George Floyd died under the knee of a Minneapolis policeman, Harvard basketball coach Tommy Amaker knew it was time to get to work. Amaker brings players to the annual W.E.B. Du Bois Award ceremony, where Harvard honors trailblazers in politics, culture and business. Among them are Chappelle and Kaepernick. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

FILE - In this Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016, file photo, basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar speaks at Harvard in Cambridge, Mass. When George Floyd died in spring 2020, under a policeman's knee, Harvard basketball coach Tommy Amaker knew it was time to get to work. “He wants the team to reflect Harvard’s best efforts to show diversity,” said Abdul-Jabbar, who spoke to the team in 2016. (AP Photo/Jimmy Golen, File)

FILE - In this March 19, 2014, file photo, Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker directs his team during practice for the NCAA college basketball tournament in Spokane, Wash. When George Floyd died this spring under a policeman's knee, Amaker didn't send out a tweet affirming Black Lives Matter or add a uniform patch calling for Equality. He simply continued exposing his players to social justice issues, as he had been doing for more than a decade, establishing the program as a model for other teams only now showing an interest. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 2, 2019, file photo, Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker reacts during an NCAA college basketball game against North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C. When George Floyd died this spring under a policeman's knee, Amaker didn't send out a tweet affirming Black Lives Matter or add a uniform patch calling for Equality. He simply continued exposing his players to social justice issues, as he had been doing for more than a decade, establishing the program as a model for other teams only now showing an interest. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)