From loope21.com:

Kansas State coach Frank Martin always makes it a point to recruit a Latino high school ball player from overseas every year.

Martin, who is Cuban, knows that the islands of Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and countless others have talent that many U.S. coaches pass over.

But when he brings these players to the states, the last thing he’d ever expect was the treatment one of his players received at the foul line in the school’s opening game of the NCAA Tournament yesterday.

Freshman point guard Angel Rodriguez, who was born and raised in Puerto Rico, was at the foul-line when the Southern Mississippi University {sic} band began chanting “Where’s your green card?”

Holy cow!  Are college students from University of Southern Mississippi   really this rude and ignorant?   Puerto Ricans are American citizens.  They don’t need green cards.  Even if they did, who is really that  rude? 

Does USM have any foreign students?  Do those students have green cards or student visas?  Do they feel welcome at that school or are they taunted as this player was?

This story is just not what you want hear when you turn on your sports news. 

According to Boston.com:

Rodriguez heard them, and later he heard an apology on behalf of them. It came from Southern Mississippi officials, and the freshman guard accepted it because “there’s ignorant people and I know that’s not how they want to represent their university.’’

Apparently Angel Rodriguez has more class in his basketball hand than the entire USM band.   Good for him.  He didn’t allow an ignorant bunch of racist kids to throw him off balance.  University officials should bench the band for a year and make those who participated serve community service by attending a year long civics class for non-credit.  Maybe then those ignoramouses would learn the Puerto Ricans are citizens. 

The President of  University of Southern Mississippi  has issued an apology.  It would be interesting to know if any officials from USM  attempted to stop the band while they were chanting. 

 [Ed. Note:  This school is University of Southern Mississippi (USM), not Southern Methodist University  (SMU).]

16 Thoughts to “Racism comes to the NCAA Foul Line SMU Style”

  1. Elena

    Gee, I wonder where kids hear these things?

  2. The band members don’t have the benefit of even being kids. They need to man up (and woman up).

    Of course, I remember many years ago when the UVA Pep band came out on the field with a member dressed in prison stripes, complete with ball and chain. They were playing UMD and the ‘prisoner’ was former Gov. Marvin Mandel. I am trying to remember if the Pep Band got suspended or what. I think they had to present all skits to a higher authority after that.

    Youthful indescretion? Perhaps. Permanent embarrassment on your school? Most definitely.

    MoM, can you shed any light on this incident or were you a mere babe in arms when this happened? My memory grows dim.

  3. Elena

    Don’t I recall a certain blogger complaining about his neighbors who must be “illegals” because they played loud salsa music, but were actually Puerto Rican!

  4. Starryflights

    Racist cowards should be kicked out of school, or at least kicked off the band

  5. punchak

    Sportsmanship par excellence!!!

  6. @Starry, I would put the whole band on probation for a year, just like they do a naughty fraternity house. Their judgement was poor at best. Their manners were horrible.

    @Elena

    Yes I do remember that. Someone lost a little credibility that day, for sure.

  7. SlowpokeRodriguez

    When I lived next to campus, it was USM, not SMU. SMU, last I checked, was in Dallas. Nice school! I don’t think they let ugly girls in. Actually, nice little town. Racism there is really not out in the open…it’s just there.

    1. @Pokie, When I first read the story I thought it said SMU and that SMU was Southern Methodist University.

      USM should be University of Southern Mississippi. So what gives? ESPN should know.

  8. SlowpokeRodriguez

    Actually, Boston.com didn’t get it wrong either, although I can’t imagine anyone or anything from Boston knowing the first thing about USM, or the Eagles band.

  9. SlowpokeRodriguez

    I see, it’s loop21 that’s printing inaccuracies willy-nilly. No surprise there.

  10. So did one version of ESPN that I checked out. I didnt source it. Something seemed amiss to me also. I just went in and fixed it. I have never read Loop21 which is why I looked for a second source.

    I don’t want to tarnish SMU’s reputation.

    [Ed. Note: This school is University of Southern Mississippi (USM), not Southern Methodist University (SMU).]

  11. The Boston.com link is completely gone. NPR got it right. I know that kills ya, Pokie.

    http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/03/20/149012385/southern-miss-revokes-scholarships-of-band-members-for-green-card-chant

    The five students were involved in one of the more controversial moments of the NCAA tournament, when they chanted “Where’s your green card?” as Angel Rodriguez, a Latino player from Kansas State, took a free throw.

    In a statement, the university didn’t name the five students but said their pep band scholarships had been revoked, they have been removed from the band and they will be required to take a two-hour cultural sensitivity training course.

    “The students have been forthcoming, cooperative, contrite and sincerely remorseful. They acted rashly and inappropriately, and now see the gravity of their words and actions,” Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Joe Paul said in statement. “This is a teachable moment, not only for these students but for our entire student body and those who work with them.”

    When they finish cultural sensitivity, they need to take civics for …oh…a year.

  12. Pokie, thanks for bringing that up. You were right and I was wrong to go against what I really knew to be right. Old Jock’s kid here. I had heard of USM and SMU by the time I was 3 years old. I knew better. I didn’t know SMU was in Dallas but I knew it was in Texas.

  13. marinm

    I mentioned this story at work today – after a coworker said I needed to learn spanish and what was Spanish for “I do tile” – I pointed out the one thing that mattered most.

    Kansas won. 😉

    Oh, and once I go unemployed next week make sure to look out for me on the ramp to I95 selling oranges!

    1. How about Elvis pictures on velvet? @marin. All kidding aside. Unemployment is scary, even if you are very marketable.

      Any nibbles?

  14. marinm

    @Moon-howler

    We’ll be fine. Thanks for asking.

    I do think that the band was trying – albeit too hard – to help their team and show school pride by trying to psyche out an opponent. Sure their might be some racism in there but I’d give them the benefit of the doubt before passing judgment.

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