I don’t know why people don’t learn. Is it that hard not to say something racist and problematic? That being said, whether or not he wants to learn his lesson, one white college tennis player out of North Carolina is going to face the music for his words, after he apparently told his black opponent, “At least I know my dad” during a match over the weekend.
According to the Associated Press, Appalachian State University’s Spencer Brown, who is white, was suspended indefinitely from the men’s team after the Sunday match against John Wilson, the senior class president at the historically black North Carolina A&T State University.
Wilson was the one who had to bring Brown’s inappropriate and stereotypical comment to light, tweeting out a photo of Spencer, with some details about what happened during the NCAA Division I match.
“Black twitter, do ya thing,” Wilson quipped.
Wilson’s tweet was retweeted almost 5,000 times. Appalachian State soon issued a statement with an apology, calling the behavior “derogatory and offensive.”
“After yesterday’s men’s tennis match, an Appalachian State student-athlete engaged in behavior that was derogatory and offensive,” the statement read, according to the Winston-Salem Journal. “This student-athlete has been suspended indefinitely from the team, effective immediately, for violating the student-athlete discipline policy.”
A spokesperson for the school said that there would be no further comment on the issue.
Ole Brown really tried it with the absentee-black-father myth (which has been debunked), and only ended up throwing out his tennis career as a freshman.
You’ve won this round of “Let your racism ruin your life,” though, so, I guess, thanks for playing.