Aim High – University of Maryland Athletics

One of Abbott’s close friends who chose to kneel for the national anthem in high school, Josh Pemberton, still recognizes Abbott’s achievements as a student-athlete and maintains a close relationship.

Abbott is currently a freelance writer for The Afro, the oldest Black-owned business in Maryland and the third-oldest Black-owned business in America. Recently, Abbott had the opportunity to interview Emeline King, Ford’s first Black female interior car designer, and New York-based jazz duo The Baylor Project.

Abbott uses his platform to balance the scales and expand diversity through his writing. With the track and field season canceled during the pandemic, Abbott found himself with a lot of free time, so he decided to delve deeper into his passion for writing.

“I just started writing more as a way to express myself,” he said. “There weren’t many other things to do, so I had to do something productive with my time.”

Abbott wrote a piece about Cam Newton, one of his favorite quarterbacks of all time.

“It was a very raw piece and one of my favorite pieces I’ve written because it’s something I’m passionate about,” Abbott said. “He put his words into action when discussing the importance of the intersection between sports, race and culture.”