Nigel Hayes has been outspoken almost throughout his Wisconsin career. USATSI

Wisconsin star Nigel Hayes got serious on Twitter on Wednesday night. Hayes -- catalyzed to speak out due to this week's killings of African Americans at the hands of law enforcement in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Charlotte, North Carolina, -- brought up social issues, racism, police brutality and inequality in America.

Hayes, who has not been shy about voicing his opinion on many subjects (he's unabashedly taken on the NCAA before), got bombarded in his mentions by those in disagreement, if not wanting to entirely shout down, his views.

Here's the big takeaway from his Twitter storm.

To White America, black athletes should only entertain. Once they speak on social issues, they've gone too far... https://t.co/z1YVy2fLoh — Nigel Hayes (@NIGEL_HAYES) September 22, 2016

Hayes' mentions, obviously, became inflamed by many who disagreed with his assertions and opinions.

It all started with this tweet, earlier on Wednesday.

Racism towards black people isn't getting "worse", it's getting filmed and shared for all to see what actually goes on. #BlackLivesMatter — Nigel Hayes (@NIGEL_HAYES) September 21, 2016

From there, Hayes' Twitter mentions started to populate, and he pushed back.

Once black lives ACTUALLY matter, then say that.



Loving my mom doesn't mean I hate yours.#BlackLivesMatterhttps://t.co/Xx03PaH7rM — Nigel Hayes (@NIGEL_HAYES) September 21, 2016

I've seen WHITE people SHOOT at police officers with assault rifles AND live...



The only difference is color. https://t.co/I51oAaMhlf — Nigel Hayes (@NIGEL_HAYES) September 21, 2016

He could've 50 warrants. I see white men with warrants get detained alive all the time. Why not black men? https://t.co/oeMVQV6nTx — Nigel Hayes (@NIGEL_HAYES) September 21, 2016

I urge you to view the Tulsa killing of #TerenceCrutcher.



Maybe a video is good enough to not be a "bailout". https://t.co/T2I2QxvkD9 — Nigel Hayes (@NIGEL_HAYES) September 22, 2016

Interesting.

White guy gets shot.

Shooter is in trouble immediately.



Black guy gets shot.

"Well, what did he do?" https://t.co/vcx4uOIqLP — Nigel Hayes (@NIGEL_HAYES) September 22, 2016

Hayes is not a drive-by commentator on this stuff. He's also not a look-at-me advocate. He's consistently been unafraid to voice his opinion on many topics, plenty of them regarding human rights and what's fair (and unfair) about being a student-athlete in the current NCAA climate. His Twitter header photo is this. The famous event from 1967 -- the "Ali Summit" -- in which famous black sports icons (Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jim Brown) spoke in support of Ali and against the United States government's involvement in the Vietnam War.

Perhaps appropriately, Hayes is becoming as known for his outspoken personality as he is his basketball skills. Hayes will be in the running to be the Big Ten's best player this season, for what it's worth. He's a projected NBA player.

Hayes continued to tweet through the pushback with comments like this.

Crazy. What kind of person would do that?



I'm glad they don't do this to black people... https://t.co/bN1CQxZdiF — Nigel Hayes (@NIGEL_HAYES) September 22, 2016

Credit to Hayes for speaking out like this. Hayes' teammate, Bronson Koenig, has also been an agent of change. Last week, Koenig -- who is of Native American origin -- drove from Wisconsin to North Dakota to help protest the government installing an oil pipeline on sacred land. This program is one with a lot of potential on the court, but it's also allowing its star players to stand for something bigger, to not shy from significant social and political issues.

More and more, this has become the climate of sports in America. Colin Kaepernick has reignited a movement, and its ripples are evident in the actions of younger men like Hayes and Koenig. Like it or not, sports and politics and social awareness on racial issues have always been intertwined. From Jackie Robinson in the 1940s, to John Carlos and Tommie Smith at the 1968 Olympics, to Muhammad Ali and beyond. These issues date back nearly 100 years in American sports. Now, more than ever, it's the collegiate athletes who aren't afraid to speak.

Now, two questions: Where does Hayes a popular player who, (on a lighter note, is currently on the hook for more than 2,000 doughnuts) go from here with this issue, and 2) what other active college players could follow his lead in the coming weeks and months?