Sometimes something refreshing can come out of something disgusting.
That's the case in the reaction to the awful Oklahoma SAE video that was a dominant topic in Monday's sports news.
Kudos to their president, David Boren, for reacting swiftly and decisively.
But kudos more to the football players there for making their voices heard. It's a sad-but-true fact of campus life that people don't really start paying attention and caring about racial issues unless it starts affecting athletics. And though it seems Boren's response didn't come in response to the Sooners losing a football commitment, the public response from current and former players is a powerful part of this story.
In Norman, they are asking themselves a lot of questions and doing a lot of soul-searching. But this could well be taking place on any campus, including Clemson.
Great stuff from Eric Striker, who reached out to a reporter to share his perspective.
Less than 12 hours after viewing the video - and three hours before he would walk arm-in-arm with teammates and coaches into the Everest Training Center in silent protest - Oklahoma senior linebacker and team captain Eric Striker sat in the OU library, calmly detailing his outrage and heartache over the racist chant that went viral Sunday night and embarrassed his school.
Striker's initial reaction to the video, showing members of the now-disbanded Sigma Alpha Epsilon OU chapter cheerfully singing that they'd never accept a black brother, went viral itself. He posted an 18-second, profanity-laced tirade to SnapChat, angrily accusing the same fraternity members who sang that racist song of shaking athletes' hands and hugging them after big games.
Monday morning, Striker posted a much more subdued video in which he apologized for his language, but not for the substance of his message.
Between those two video messages, though, Striker reached out to a reporter from The Oklahoman and asked to meet so that he could more fully express his feelings - and the feelings of other OU student-athletes - about the racist video, the struggles young black men sometimes face on OU's campus and his profound desire to be seen as more than a football player.
"I hate to be defined as a football player," Striker said. "I've got a great personality. I'm humorous. I'm a political science major. I love everybody. I'm a people person.
"Football is not who I am. All you know is the number '19' on the back of my jersey."
And this:
As Striker sat in a quiet corner on the fourth floor of OU's Bizzell Memorial Library, he tried putting it into words.
The All-Big 12 linebacker - perhaps best known for tormenting Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron in the 2014 Sugar Bowl - said he and his teammates have kept quiet about the way they've been treated in the past at fraternity parties - and not just SAE events.
No more.
Despite often being invited to parties because of his athletic prowess - and used to promote and create buzz about those parties - Striker said he's been singled out and asked who invited him, then told he can stay, "as long as you don't cause any trouble."
Striker recalled defensive end Charles Tapper being called the N-word at one fraternity party, and former OU running back David Smith overhearing someone whisper that people at a date party should watch out for Smith, because he might take a girl home and rape her.
And this:
One of Striker's goals in every class he takes is to make sure his classmates know he's not a stereotypical athlete. He speaks up and debates issues, and through that has made a wide variety of friends outside of the football team.
"I hope this message reaches all across the country, to kids coming up in Little League and on through high school ball," Striker said. "You're gonna do your thing, but don't rely on football. You are a human being. You are a person."
He said some responsibility falls on the African-American community to stop freely using the N-word.
"We need to straighten up and stop using the word," he said. "Period."
Striker called himself a "forgiving person" and - in a way - feels sorry for the people who sang that offensive song, but also wants a strong message sent to the OU community.
"I know the fraternity is completely done, but I wanna know about the dudes in that fraternity," he said. "The ones that live off campus and said that chant, they need to go."
More from the Tulsa paper here.
There would be no practice on this day. Oklahoma spokesperson Pete Moris said a mutual team decision was made following a meeting between coach Bob Stoops and leaders on the squad.
Stoops joined in the march from the Barry Switzer Center to the indoor facility. He was centered between team leaders Sterling Shepard, Ty Darlington, Zack Sanchez, Charles Tapper, Trevor Knight and Eric Striker on the front line.
The scheduled practice - the Sooners' third of spring drills - was attended by media, who had been invited two weeks earlier to photograph and video the first 20 minutes of Monday's workout. But the football team protested instead of practicing following Sunday's release of a racist video from campus fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
This Tulsa columnist gives his take.
At the heart of the issue is an exclusive club that sings about not wanting to admit black members ("you can hang 'em from a tree, but they'll never [start] with me," the song goes) but then lustily cheers for their football exploits on Saturday afternoons at Owen Field.
Sounds like a slave-owner's way of thinking.
"Angry," former quarterback Paul Thompson, who played at OU from 2002-06, told the World. "Not that I don't know that stuff happens. … I'd like to think guys I go to class with or guys I hang out with on Campus Corner aren't thinking those things.
"But what that video shows is that everybody is nice to your face and pats you on the back here, but … it's almost like a fly on the wall thing, you see the true colors of what's going on."
A few Tuesday links:
-- David Teel chats up John Swofford on some pressing issues.
Any conversation with Swofford must include an inquiry about a potential ACC channel, in concert with ESPN, dedicated to the league. Indeed, not asking would bring the wrath of the Twitterverse.
"We continue to explore it, and there's no substantive news to report about it at this point in time," he said with a chuckle, "and we'll probably say very little about it until there is."
Swofford's preference for understatement here is rational. Ratcheting up expectations and/or negotiating in public serve no one's interests.
But safe to say ACC and ESPN officials are encouraged by the SEC Network's successful rollout, which bodes well for an ACC launch in 2016 or '17.
-- At Giants.com, they compare Vic Beasley and Randy Gregory.
By NFL analyst Curtis Conway
I'm going with Vic Beasley. When you look at the size, you talk about him coming in a little heavier than we thought he would, but he still ran fast. That's what's key for me. Coming off the edge, you still have to have that speed. With that weight, it was pretty remarkable seeing him come in and be able to put the numbers up he did at the combine. But both of these are pretty much the same guy to me. I think they're going to have to come in and learn how to drop cover in space because when I watch them on tape, they're pinning their ears back every single play going after the quarterback and that was their assignment.
So I think when they move up to the next level, who's going to be able to transition? Who's going to be able to do more? Right now, I'm leaning toward Vic Beasley.
-- At ESPN, a smaller Malliciah Goodman could help the Falcons' pass rush.
Malliciah Goodman doesn't possess great speed, but the 6-foot-4 defensive lineman certainly has the length with 37-inch arms. Quinn obviously sees Goodman's value as a pass-rusher, which is why Goodman is in the process of dropping 25 pounds from his playing weight last year of 290. Remember, he bulked up to be more of a run-stuffer in last year's 3-4 hybrid system under Mike Nolan. Goodman doesn't have a sack in two seasons with the Falcons after recording 12 sacks in college at Clemson, including 9.5 sacks during his final year.
"I met with (Quinn) and Bryan Cox and I'm going to get my weight down and probably be back on the outside, working on tight ends and the tackles," Goodman said. "I'm excited to make that transition. I was that in college. We changed it once I got to Atlanta because of the different defenses. But I'll be back outside. It will all depend on the progress we have with that and the work we put in at [organized team activities]."
As of right now, Goodman weighs 280 pounds, still a little ways from the targeted 265. It's been far from easy trying to get down to his desired weight.
"You have to change your diet up, first of all, with high protein, less carbs and the cardio and exercise," Goodman said. "Just kind of getting your feet quicker. Initially, it was hard because I was 290 and I had these certain habits to keep my weight. Now I have to lose weight, so I've got to change my habits, alter my diet. It's just that quick transition. But I'm getting used to it. It will be fine."
-- And in The Charlotte Observer, Stephone Anthony is speeding up draft boards.
After the combine, a report from DraftInsider.com had Anthony as a "favorite" of Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers. That pleased Anthony, who grew up a Packers fan, though he feigned ignorance when told Green Bay had a vacancy at inside linebacker after releasing A.J. Hawk.
"It'd be a dream come true," said Anthony of playing for the Packers, who have the 30th overall selection.
Wherever he lands, Anthony will have taken another step in fulfilling his dream - a dream that started in Anson County.
"Small town, Anson County," Anthony said with a smile. "Ain't much there, man, but we play some football."
LW
This post was edited on 3/10 8:22 AM by Larry_Williams
