Longhorn offensive lineman kicked off team

[HuskerKing130]

Its absolutely ridiculous to be kicked off the football team over something posted on facebook. Give me a ***King break, who gives a damn what someone posts on their facebook?

[AR Husker Fan]

I should imagine all of his teammates who are African-American, or find bigotry to be abhorrent, or who believe that making threats on the life of the President-elect are grounds for criminal charges...

 

Oh, and the coach who has to consider the effect that trash has on team chemistry, how the team is viewed by the community, how the remarks are viewed by the AD or the Board of Regents...

 

I'd say all of those for a start.

[zoogs]

fair enough, AR - you convinced me. He should be off the team.

 

However, I would question those that say he is racist based on these remarks. It's possible but hardly definite. There definitely exists the tendency to pander overmuch to PC-land.

 

I do wonder if there's more to this kid than just this isolated event. I think there might be.

[fro daddy]

Racist? maybe

 

Poor taste in humor? absolutly

 

huskerking, internet or not. Facebook, myspace, a personal web page, whatever... It is public domain, basically the same as the town square, and he represents not only his team, but his university. And anytime that you represent something greater than yourself, things like this are possible.

[AR Husker Fan]

***SNIP***

 

However, I would question those that say he is racist based on these remarks. It's possible but hardly definite. There definitely exists the tendency to pander overmuch to PC-land.

 

***SNIP***

Very possible that he is not, in fact, racist - and that it was just a poor attempt at humor. The problem is - how is one to really know? The kid screwed himself, and it's going to be very difficult for him to lose the "racist" label. It's similar to the kids that post pictures of themselves drinking or posing nude or partially nude - they may not be doing anything anyone else isn't doing - or did in their youth - but employers are checking those pages and in some cases using them as the basis for making employment decisions.

[VA Husker Fan]

 

And since when is "killing" off limits for jokes?

In the imortal words of Slim Pickens to Hervey Korman in Blazing Saddles, " I wish you would hang that Ni**er until he was dead"....I was rolling!

 

You don't see a difference between fictional goofball (and very funny) comedy movie characters and the real-life soon-to-be president? Really?

[zE bOp]

Link to Austin American-Statesman story here

 

The Statesman article doesn't specify what got Buck Burnette kicked off the team. After the election was called for Obama, he posted the following message on his Facebook page:

 

"all the hunters gather up, we have a @%#@ in the whitehouse"

 

He later posted this apology (too late):

"Clearly I have made a mistake and apologized for it and will pay for it. I received it as a text message from an acquaintance and immaturely put it up on facebook in the light of the election. Im not racist and apologize for offending you. I grew up on a ranch in a small town where that was a real thing and I need to grow up. I sincerely am sorry for being ignorant in thinking that it would be ok to write that publicly and apologize to you in particular. I have to be more mature than to put the reputation of my team at stake and to spread that kind of hate which I dont even believe in. Once again, I sincerely apologize."

 

I am impressed by his apology(if that's real). Just a young and dumb type of mistake, IMO. I think his punishment is too severe.

 

All us white folks are racist to one degree or another, so don't kid yourselves. It's a systematic conditioning in our society--we're 'infected' with it. So I don't think we should take a self righteous attitude about it toward another, but rather try and help each other work on putting an end to racism.