Chance the Rapper said via Twitter that he will not be participating in an ESPN forum on athletes and violence Thursday at a South Side YMCA, contrary to some published reports.
The town hall-style panel, titled “An Undefeated Conversation: Athletes, Responsibility and Violence,” will be moderated by Jemele Hill, co-host of “His & Hers” on ESPN2. Panelists scheduled to attend include Rajon Rondo, Ken Williams, Isiah Thomas, Doug Glanville and Jolinda Wade, mother of Dwyane Wade. Also on the panel are two senior writers from ESPN’s sports/culture website theundefeated.com, Clinton Yates and Chicago native Lonnae O’Neal.
The panel, which takes place at the YMCA on Stony Island Avenue, will be taped Thursday afternoon and will air at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN that same night. Scheduled topics to be addressed include a segment on interactions between athletes and law enforcement, including experiences with racial profiling. Another segment will explore the relationship athletes have with guns.
ESPN’s press release on the panel did not say Chance would be at the Thursday taping; he was included as one of the guests on a Friday follow-up program on ESPN2’s “First Take,” though it would appear from his tweets Tuesday that he won’t appear on the show either.