Amidst Unrest, Penn State's P.J. Mustipher Eager for a Return to Teammates
Like many Americans, Penn State defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher described the past week as being both “tough” and “long” during a press conference with reporters Tuesday.
A witness to the social unrest and upheaval sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day, Mustipher said he’s found solace in his time with family from their home in the northwestern suburban Baltimore community of Owings Mills, Md. So too have his workouts allowed him to get his mind off of things, he said.
But, Mustipher acknowledged, it’s been a lot to process.
“We have so much going on in this country right now, you turn on the TV, you go on Twitter, it's all over the place, and rightfully so,” Mustipher said. “People are tired of the multitude of injustices that are going on and I think it's showing. I have a lot of respect and love for everybody who's out there, doing what they can to really change the culture of this country. It is everywhere.
“It is difficult but I'm doing things to keep my mind busy working out, talking with my family, but I'm not going to shy away from what's going on because we have to face it if we want to change it.”
One of the unquestioned leaders of Penn State’s football program, Mustipher and the rest of the Nittany Lions gathered virtually at the behest of head coach James Franklin this past weekend.
With Franklin opening the floor to everybody in the Penn State football family, himself taking a step back to allow others to speak their minds on the issues currently at hand, Mustipher said that the environment and approach were particularly of benefit.
“We all sat down this past weekend and just opened the floor up to everybody who wants to say something about this and get everything off their chest,” Mustipher said. “I think it was really beneficial for us because we were able to take a step back and listen to everyone. And again, it's important that we do it here because if we can't do it in our locker room, then it won't happen anywhere else.
“Coach Franklin, what he's done that's been important for us is, he's taken a step back and he's allowed us to speak our minds… And I think that's what's so important about Coach Franklin is that he's gonna love us, whether it be the tough love he gives us on the field or whether he’s putting an arm around us when things are difficult off the field, he's always gonna be there for us.”
The exacerbating challenge for Mustipher and the rest of the Penn State football family through the course of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, however, is the absence of the physical presence so integral to the typical daily routine of the program.
Saying that conversations have been had to discuss a variety of scenarios for a return to campus, with no resolution or a firm date for a return yet in place, Mustipher said instead that he’s simply eager for that day to come; maybe as much now as ever before.
“I'm so eager. The day they do announce whenever we can go back, I might run back. I might not even drive back,” Mustipher said. “That's just how happy I am to be back with my guys.
“I think it would be nice to be with them during this hard time because everybody's experiencing it. Everybody's seeing what's going on in the country and it's truly not a good time right now for us. But things are going to change.
“But to be with my teammates right now, it'd be important, because you want to feel that that positive energy, you want to feel that love and that connection we have as brothers.”
Wanting nothing more than to feel the security and safety of the program, himself helping to provide it, Mustipher continued in expressing his anticipation for that opportunity’s eventual arrival.
“Being together would be very important for us because I think individually, some guys might feel that they're not safe, they're not in a good place and if they were with us, we would be able to comfort them,” Mustipher said. “So we're not together right now, unfortunately, but when we do get together, we're going to continue having conversations, we're going to continue loving one another, and when that day does arrive, we're going to continue to get this thing rolling.”
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