Buck Burnette Shouldn’t Have Been Kicked Off Team
Buck Burnette, a backup offensively lineman on the Texas Longhorns, obviously did something stupid. Apparently he was a John McCain supporter leading up to the recent United States presidential election. After Barack Obama became won the election, Burnette decided to send out a Facebook comment. What did the Burnette’s Facebook comment say?
“all the hunters gather up, we have a #$%&er in the whitehouse”
That remark is definitely indefensible. Not only is it stupid, it’s potentially dangerous. People have gone to jail for less than saying something as stupid as that comment. It reeks of racism. As a result, Burnette was kicked off the Longhorns football team.
All that said, even though that was a horrible decision on Burnette’s part, kicking him off the UT football team wasn’t necessarily the right move. Burnette is in college, where the main focus is to learn. What better way to learn how racism is wrong than in an environment dominated by African-Americans? I’m sure a teammate or two would like to speak with him regarding his comments.
Additionally, by kicking him off the team, you are just building up more hatred and resentment in the kid’s mind. Discipline him, sure. Suspend him for a couple games. Make him run a few marathons before and after practice. Send him for counseling or race relation classes. But don’t simply kick Burnette off the team.
As Barack Obama would say, that solution would be like using a hatchet when a scalpel was needed.
And in case you missed it, here’s President-elect Barack Obama’s acceptance speech:
Tags: barack obama, buck burnette, burnette racial slur, longhorns football, Texas Longhorns
