a college football game made headlines. not for the talented student athletes who went out on the field and competed in a close and hard fought game. the headlines made news of horrible and immoral behavior emanating from the student section for one college: the university of tennessee. the student fan section’s behavior.

in a highly publicized event, the school essentially cast off a young lady who was admitted to the school and their spirit (cheer) team. they made her a persona non grata with respect to attending the school. the school apparently had standards.

the young lady was guiltyer crime of a youthful indiscretion. a discretion worthy of some modicum of rebuke. it was a tastless use of the “n” word in a manner that music artists use it in their videos. her mistake included posting it on social media when she got her drivers’ license. this youthful mistake revealed that this young lady had room to grow to become a moral, upstanding and respectful member of socieity. she, arguably, was a poster child for those seeking to change or improve individual’s attitudes. the university of tennessee was not up for this challenge.

the tennessee bad behavior errupted during the game with ole miss when there was a critical ruling on the field that almost determined that ole miss was going to win the game.

these student felt comfortable casting the physical insult of trash onto student athletes and coaches. the recipient of these projectiles included african american players.

this event occurred with 54 seconds to go, the game was delayed. it was so bad that the ole miss team and to leave the side line and move on to the field to avoid being struck.

eventually, the game continued.

prior to the game continuing, the university of tennessee had the opportunity to show the world of their moral judgement. the same type of moral judgment that they used to dismiss the young lady. they could have looked at how disgraceful their student fan’s conduct was and forfeit the game. they could have taken an “f.” this would have sent a strong message that bad conduct is not accceptable. in fact, the body that governed the game later issued a statement finding that the fan’s conduct was unacceptable.

the university of tennessee, however, did not. the decided to continue play. they had a chance to pull off a miracle win.

in a series of nailbiting places ensued in which the university of tennessee had several plays that could have won the game. their fans roared in anticipation of a great moment happening. the “football” gods, however, did not let it happen. lane kiffin, the ole miss coach who was hit by a golf ball during the assault, and his team walked away with a victory. the university of tennesee walked away with a fine of $250,000, and rebuke.

what was more racially offensive? tennessee university student fans throwing garbage at african american ole miss players, staff and individuals or a 16 year old using a unflattering term in a social media post?

we can now snarkingly say that the university of tennessee rejected the young lady due to the fact that they knew that were unqualified to assist in her growth to become a moral, respectful and upstanding individuals. instead, she, as a member of the spirit squad, had she been accepted, may have been on the field to witness the ugliness that the university teaches and endorses. a lesson that this young lady could ill afford to learn.

hopefully, she is in a better place in her life. in light of the university’s many moral and ethical failures, she is probably grateful that she never attending tennessee. they did her a huge favor.

be well!!

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