Oregon State University sophomore Rocco Carley found himself kicked off the football bench following an unearthed audio recording of the player using racist and homophobic language.
Coach Jonathan Smith and Athletic Director Scott Barnes worked in tandem to decide Carley should be removed from the team, The Salem Statesman Journal reports. Smith and Barnes took to Twitter to explain their actions.
“I became aware of the comments made by Rocco Carley earlier this evening,” Smith tweeted. “I immediately shared the audio with Scott Barnes. We both agreed this language and attitude is entirely unacceptable, regardless of circumstances or environment. I spoke with Rocco and dismissed him from the team. I will not tolerate racism or hate speech.”
— Jonathan Smith (@Coach_Smith) June 4, 2020
Barnes echoed that statement in remarks of his own.
“Coach Smith informed me of the remarks made by one of our football student-athletes,” Barnes stated via the college’s Twitter account. “We are both disgusted by the remarks made, and agreed wholeheartedly that dismissing the student-athlete from the team is necessary and appropriate action. Racism of any kind is unacceptable in the Oregon State University athletic department. ”
Statement from @BeaverAD Scott Barnes: pic.twitter.com/SUO67N5cMm
— Go Beavs (@BeaverAthletics) June 4, 2020
Rocco Carley also released his own statement, an apology, via Twitter. “To my family, my community, and everyone I have associated with, I am sorry,” Carley said in the state. “This does not condone anything of what I have said, but I promise to you all that this video does not represent me. I was doing an accent of a Southern man and giving a very satire example of what we all thought would be funny. This in no way, shape or form makes what I said right.”
Carley appears to have since deleted his Twitter account. The audio recording itself has yet to leak publicly, though reports say at one point Carely says “I hate the Southern fried chicken n*ggers, I want all the gays and Muslims killed, the blacks can stay if they do my field work.”
Gay Thomas
Imagine how much of a loser you’d have to be to get booted from one of the worst college football programs in America. Well done, Rocco!
evacdesilets
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Vince
I’d also imagine many of the team players are black and it might even be dangerous to let him stay on the team.
Nicaan1
You do realize the racist implications of your comment, right? You’re relying on a racist stereotype that implies that the black players only reaction to dealing with racist comments would be through violence. Have you absorbed anything from the protest of the last few weeks?
Whether that was your intention or not, that’s the implication. It’s the same logic cops use to murder unarmed black/brown men/boys with impunity.
ShiningSex
free speech should not be hate speech.
these people need to keep being called out
Max
your are absolutely right!
TonyPSP
I can have a foul mouth at times but I cannot imagine saying those things in any context ever. It’s still shocks me that anyone would think that’s anything but racist and representative of themselves. And really stupid to put it out on social media. Stupid racist. Racist people think they can get away with saying crap like this and an apology is going to make it ok. NOT OK.
montegutdude
Annnd, he just had to be a tight end.
AmblinGuy
“To my family, my community, and everyone I have associated with, AND TO COMMUNITIES THAT I DID NOT CONSIDER, PRIOR TO DISPLAYING BLATANT RACIST BEHAVIORS, I am sorry, FULL STOP.”
There, I fixed Rocco’s statement for him. His context does not matter. And saying “this isn’t me” is patently false. If it wasn’t him, this wouldn’t have happened. Period. It is him. Accept it, understand it and commit to doing better.
blackhook
Good riddance to bad trash!
jniceny
This wasn’t hate speech. It was a failed attempt at satire. Offensive? Not to me, but I can see how others would disagree. Anyway, does it deserve getting kicked off the team? I would say no. And given that this is a public university, and the speech in question was an attempt at sociopolitical satire that would be one of the most protected forms of speech under the 1st Amendment. ( Also, notice how the AD and coach don’t mention homophobia. )
dirtypierre
Satire takes intelligence, hate speech doesn’t. This guy got caught with his pants down and has to suffer the consequences of his stupidity. Good luck trying to peddle your misdirected niceness.
Cam
How interesting that you automatically state as fact something that isn’t in evidence. The only person who said it was satire is the accused.
Looks like you have a prejudice to auto-defend people accused of racism.
nitejonboy
I understand he was performing a satire but the satire itself was terribly offensive to both whites and blacks. It was the wrong place and the wrong time to be doing that. I know the feeling. I was discussing race relations with a fellow white friend backstage one night at a show and I quoted something my racist grandfather said once but I was discussing how I was disgusted by his racism and was giving her an example of his racism, I wasn’t saying it in support or condoning it. But a black actress heard it and reported me and I got fired. I could not believe I was being misconstrued that way and they wouldn’t even let me explain my side.
Cam
Except you are trying to establish an unproven fact. You said “I understand he was performing satire”.
Nobody has said that except for the accused. Why do you “understand” that?