Saban, Malzahn could make big impact regarding flag

It's about damn time.

After South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called for the removal of the Confederate flag from capitol grounds following the nine murders at a Charleston church, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley had what is widely viewed as a symbol of bigotry and racism removed Wednesday outside the State Capitol building in Montgomery.

Took long enough. In the aftermath of the massacre in Charleston, blacks and whites protested in support of the flag in Montgomery, but Bentley made the right call, finally.

However, the likes of Nick Saban and Gus Malzahn can make an even greater statement by simply saying they do not condone the flag and the racial connection to it. Athletics has always been a force for social change.

Athletics is transparent. Relatable to everyone regardless of race, creed or color. Just go to any Alabama or Auburn football game and you'll see fans from all walks of life sharing high fives in celebration and shouting in unison after a bad call or turnover.

Whenever someone in sports speaks, people listen.

So what if a former Alabama or Auburn player who is currently in the NFL condemned the Confederate flag?

Would that send the message in this state that hey, the flag serves no positive purpose even in the South? When the Ku Klux Klan were lynching black men, the confederate flag was their symbol to represent white superiority.

Considering Bentley is a huge Alabama booster he should never have had that flag up in the first place. He attends the games. Big supporter of Saban and the Crimson Tide, but that flag was still flying on the state capitol building grounds?

He must know that flag offends a huge majority of black people, yet he had it up while cheering for the likes of T.J. Yeldon, Amari Cooper and other black players at Alabama.

If you're an Alabama or Auburn fan and support the flag, you're disrespecting not only the African-Americans who play football for those schools, but their families, too.

They probably have relatives who grew with a dislike for the flag and remain leery of those who have it on their car as a bumper sticker or on a T-shirt.

Those who want to turn a blind eye to the racial ties to the Confederate flag and believe it just represents the pride of the South, you must also realize the KKK ran it through the mud of racism – and you can't change that part of history.

If those who believe the flag represents the South, why doesn't Auburn or Alabama have it branded on their jerseys?

Because it would do more than just clash with the colors.

African-Americans would look elsewhere to play football as they did when they weren't allowed to play at southern schools. The minority student enrollment would take a hit and Nike and Under Armour would back out of their sponsorship deals in a heartbeat.

They wouldn't want to be associated with the negativity the flag represents.

Football is king in Alabama. If people here truly believe that, they know several black men have worn the crown and very instrumental in Alabama and Auburn winning national titles – Heisman Trophy winners Mark Ingram and Cam Newton to name two.

How can fans even think that flag serves a purpose when it goes against the very fabric of the men they cheer for every Saturday? If you're curious, just go up to a African-American player and ask them, hey, what do you think of the Confederate flag?

You can try to explain how it represents a historic period in the South, but that flag wasn't in the ring when WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder made his first title defense earlier in Birmingham in his home state.

Wilder is about as proud to be from Alabama as anyone, black or white, but he didn't have it representing him in the ring.

For the blacks who went to the state capitol building to support the Confederate flag, far more would go there to condemn it.

As much as everyone says the country has changed, the deaths in Charleston are another reminder of how racism is still alive and well in the United States. The national debate about the Confederate flag as a symbol of racism ultimately led to it being removed from the state capitol grounds in Montgomery.

If Saban, Malzahn or a prominent sports figure from Alabama says the Confederate flag doesn't represent them, it will make many more wonder why they are in support of it.