leviticus 24:19, provides that “a man who inflicts an injury upon his fellow man just as he did, so shall be done to him [namely,] fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. just as he inflicted an injury upon a person, so shall it be inflicted upon him.”
this has been interpreted that justice should be exacted based upon the severity of the harm. thus, a minor harm, a minor punishment, a major harm, a major punishment.
at the university of tennessee, knoxville, an incoming cheerleader was removed from cheerleading program. she was apparently pressured to not attend the university. she did not enroll.
the basis of these extreme actions were that she, as a 15 year old, posted a video that used a racial slur twice. her actions were apparently so bad that the weight of the university fell upon her. the video was released by a fellow classmate who apparently wanted her to suffer. his actions occurred after she made a social media post in support of george floyd and supporting black lives matter.
the university put out the following statement : “the university takes seriously our commitment to fostering a volunteer community that values equity, inclusion, and that promotes respect for all people. we have a responsibility to support our black students and create a place where all vols feel safe,” the university said in a statement. knoxnews.com
it went on further, “on wednesday, following a racist video and photo surfacing on social media, athletics made the decision not to allow a prospective student to join the spirit program. she will not be attending the university this fall,” the statement continued.
to this young lady, light and time have of exacting justice.
university of tennessee, knoxville proved to the world that orange is the color of hypocrisy.
the ut football team was apparently a hotbed of corruption. according to their chancellor plowman, she said the investigation showed evidence of sweeping and serious rules violations that she called “stunning,” based on the number of people involved and number of incidents.” knoxnews.com
the article noted that “The university expects the actions of Pruitt and staff members he oversaw will result in multiple NCAA Level I and/or Level II violations.” knoxnews.com
A source with knowledge of the investigation confirmed to Knox News on Dec. 20 that the investigation centered on allegations of recruiting violations and impermissible benefits. knoxnews.com
“once we started down this path, we were going to do this right,” plowman said. “we hired the firm that is world-renowned when they run into problems like this. i’m unflinching about integrity, and we’re going to run our football program with integrity.” knoxnews.com
thus, the university which stands on its integrity has none.
with all respect to the university, if you held the actions of a 15 year old to be the basis for rescinding acceptance to the spirit program and encouraging her to not attend the school, what should be the punishment for a university engaged in sweeping and serious rules violations? further, it should be noted that this university that has already had a prior scandal in their basketball department. perhaps, the chancellor should step down and the football program should be eliminated. wouldn’t this be a fair punishment?
of course, this will not happen because green is the new orange. it would appear that money trumps integrity and values.
thus, for the young lady, you have received some justice now that light and time has passed. you should be thankful that you do not have to attend a corrupt university which will likely be subject to ncaa violations. thus, spirit program activities, if you would have participated, would been limited.
more importantly, there are lessons that hopefully she will take to heart.
first, don’t use racist or offensive language. even if may think it was acceptable among your peers, it is not within society.
second, don’t use social media.
third, what happened to you is a ten commandments value issue. your classmate coveted your accomplishments and your success. his coveting of you in part led to him outing you in an attempt to take away what you have achieved.
thus, my recommendation to you is to navigate the world with modesty. you don’t have to announce to the world your accomplishments. in the world and on social media, there will be people that are jealous of you and will seek to harm you.
be well!
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