Roy Exum
Up until this past weekend there was nothing bigger than Sooner football in the state of Oklahoma, that illustrated by the fact there is currently a $160 million “renovation” of Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium now in the works. But when a very graphic racist tape surfaced last weekend, it was such a bombshell that spring football practice in normally-sleepy Norman has been cancelled twice this week and no Sooner can ever remember that happening before.
On Sunday two secretly-taped versions of “brothers” from the SAE fraternity shouting obscenities and racial slurs surfaced and university president David Boren shut down the fraternity on Monday before expelling two students who were involved on Tuesday. On Thursday the football team held a silent protest on Owen Field in condemnation of the videos rather than practice.
Both of the pirated tapes, captured on cell phones, were graphic. The chants, which declared that “there will never be a n***** in SAE” and referenced lynching — “you can hang ‘em from a tree but they’ll never sign with me!”
Dr. Boren, a former Rhodes Scholar, an attorney and former United States Senator, had pledged swift and firm justice and lived up to his word. "This is not who we are," Boren first said on Monday, hoping SAE members would leave school. “I'd be glad if they left. I might even pay the bus fare for them."
But now there are grave concerns his actions may have well violated the Constitution’s First Amendment (freedom of speech) – regardless of how repugnant the proof may be. There is also a claim that Oklahoma has a “double standard” after allowing Joe Mixon, a superb running back, to return to the team after he savagely attacked a female in an off-campus bar.
Mixon is coming off a one-year suspension after brutally beating a female after he allegedly cast a gay slur at her companion. Four bones were broken in her face but Boren has defended the decision to allow Mixon back on the team, saying, “We believe in second chances so our players can learn and grow from life’s experiences.”
Fox News columnist Clay Travis took exception to the university’s treatment of the running back, writing on his “Outkick the Coverage” website, “I guess it’s a real shame the SAE’s on the video weren’t really good at football.”
Boren is incensed by the allegation. “There is no double standard at the University of Oklahoma,” the university president responded. “We punish bad behavior without regard to race. He (Mixon) was suspended from the team for a year and was not allowed to play. He was also ordered to perform community service, which he has completed.
“We punish bad behavior without regard to whether a person is an athlete or non-athlete, black or white. It is sheer and utter nonsense to make such a statement. We are colorblind at the University of Oklahoma and make no distinction between athletes and non-athletes. We have even taken one case to the state Supreme Court to enforce the findings of our internal disciplinary process under Title IX, in a case involving a student athlete (OU linebacker Frank Shannon)," he said in a torrid response.
Meanwhile, Nancy Armour, writing for USA Today, pointed out, “Sometimes it takes silence to be heard over the din.” Her remarks came after the entire UO football team, each dressed totally in black, locked arms and, in a display of unity, marched from the dormitory to the Everest Training Center, said the Lord’s Prayer in unison, and then marched back to the dorm.
Another silent protest by the players was scheduled for Thursday on Owens Field. OU coaches Bob Stoops (football) and Lon Kruger (basketball) marched, locking arms with the athletes.
Stoops was “deeply disturbed” by what has happened. “It’s sad the ignorance that can still be there with some people. It’s just appalling. I was here to be with my guys. We all work with beautiful young men and women of all races,” the highly-regarded coach explained.
The players issued a statement that read, “The two students that have already been expelled are only a symptom of a larger disease, a disease perpetuated by the leadership of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon. The chant was not invented by the two that led it, but was taught to underclassmen by people of higher authority.
“As a team, we have come to a consensus that, in any organization, the leadership is responsible for the culture created and, in this case, encouraged.
"Being a student at the University of Oklahoma is a privilege, and allowing this culture to thrive is against everything it means to be a Sooner. Ignorance is no excuse. Therefore, we would like to urge the university to continue to investigate the executive board of SAE, and we trust that this investigation has already begun,” read the players statement.
“It is our passionately expressed desire as members of the football team for the leadership of SAE to be expelled, suspended, or otherwise disciplined severely.”
Spring practice at Oklahoma will resume next week but the prayers want to hold the university accountable in the weeks and months to come. Already there are goals that the players have identified:
* -- “As a team, our goal first and foremost is to raise awareness of racism and discrimination on college campuses nationwide. These type of incidents occur nationwide every single year and our hope is to shed light on this issue and promote meaningful change at a national level. But before we can change the nation, we make it our mission to change our campus.
* -- “We seek to accomplish this goal by stepping out of the spotlight and integrating the student-athlete experience and the student experience. As student-athletes of all races, classes and creeds, we hope to show the university and the community that we are defined by more than the numbers on our jerseys and that we are human beings that desire to get to know our classmates as we all attempt to end the culture of exclusivity on our campus.”
The team said it can hardly wait to resume spring practice with the goal of winning a national championship “but even a national championship is not more important than using our platform as student-athletes to make our university and our nation a better place.”
royexum@aol.com