Illinois State Ethics Office concludes investigation into report of racial slur used at game

[CaliRdBrd]

No doubt raciam is alive and well...everywhere...which is extremely unfortunate. But here's the deal. If they didn't say it...they didn't say it.

Let me break down the statement for you. The accused denied saying it. NO ONE other than said player could corroborate the statement. No one. That includes the officials...even the one official that the NFS head coach said would be talking.

Alive and well…everywhere?!?
Not from what I see.

 

[CaliRdBrd]

Honestly, we no longer live in a society where whether you did something or not is good enough to defend yourself. It is good enough to defend yourself from prosecution, but not persecution. We live in the court of public opinion and as such, you need to see best case and worst case scenarios.

Best case scenario here: ISU and NFS find that the slur did not occur and the coach and/or staff misheard something in a loud arena. 6 weeks passes, everyone forgets this was ever even a topic.

Worst case: ISU asks for a formal apology for the accusation and the coach, still not denying what he claims to have heard, chooses to double down to major news outlets. Those news outlets spin this into clickbait (as major news outlets do). This results in multiple inquiries from officials at both schools and turns into an even larger news story which brands ISU as "potentially racist" at best. The bad press causes applicants to attend other colleges, recruits to pull out of LOIs and brands the coach, the team and the university with a brand we dont want or need.

Taking the high road was the right play here. 6 weeks from now, none of this ever happened and everyone involved is better for it.

You’re not completely wrong, but the correct response is to defend our students from false accusations, defend our university, and shove all this all back on NSU.
The best way to get a bully to back off is to push back harder.
The entire country is waiting for someone with some cajones to push back on these race-baiting, divisive, types.

 

[CaliRdBrd]

She was so hoping it was true so she could rally the troops.

Rally the troops…and cash in

 

[DWRedbird]

Alive and well…everywhere?!?
Not from what I see.

Not that I'm trying to start a big fight or anything, but the stand that racism isn't alive and well all over this country is arguably the worst take I've seen on this board since I joined.

 

[Redbirdwarrior]

You’re not completely wrong, but the correct response is to defend our students from false accusations, defend our university, and shove all this all back on NSU.
The best way to get a bully to back off is to push back harder.
The entire country is waiting for someone with some cajones to push back on these race-baiting, divisive, types.

I feel the entire country is waiting for everyone to stop pushing back against everything and refusing to find common ground. Not everything needs to be a fight, especially when cooler heads prevail.

I have no interest at all in Illinois State being the national figurehead that "pushes back" against an HBCU for calling out racism when they see it, whether it was proven or not. Like it or not, my California friend, players from these universities and, to be sadly honest, most athletes of color across the country are still hearing slurs like this, whether reported or not, just about monthly as they travel around to certain parts of the country. To suggest otherwise is objectively false.

I would be embarrassed to be associated with a university that would willingly position itself as a champion for those that want to "fight back" against a population of people that are still quite underserved and largely treated as second class citizens even here in 2024. Imagine some of the more extreme news sources running with that. Imagine Newsmax or OAN running stories about how Illinois State is fighting back against those dastardly HBCUs. Imagine then the extreme news sources from the other side running pieces about how Illinois State is taking up arms to attack people of color. Imagine the actual response that gets from the public. More than just alienating every recruit we would ever want that has been called a slur in their life (who would want to go to a school that, upon reporting a racial slur, makes you out to be the bad guy?), it would damage the ISU brand for decades.

Do I think the coach made a mountain out of a molehill here and sullied the day for fans from both sides? Sure. Both schools handled this with appropriate response and class that I would expect of American educational institutions. I think the coach put himself in a difficult spot professionally, however.

Do I think this is now water under the bridge and both programs and universities can move on without any more headlines? Yes.

I do not want politics to come to this board, so I will limit my comments on this topic to this, but from a PR perspective alone, what you are suggesting is potentially tremendously damaging to Illinois State.

Let it go and move forward. This is neither a fight you can win nor a fight worth fighting in the first place.

 

[Redbirdwarrior]

Not that I'm trying to start a big fight or anything, but the stand that racism isn't alive and well all over this country is arguably the worst take I've seen on this board since I joined.

Absolutely correct. While racism is notably less prevalent now than 50 years ago, to suggest racism is more or less dead in America is objectively false.

 

[Phantom]

Absolutely correct. While racism is notably less prevalent now than 50 years ago, to suggest racism is more or less dead in America is objectively false.

Spend 2 seconds scrolling through Twitter and anyone will find extreme and violent examples of this. It's everywhere - in more ways and levels than one. It's sad and disgusting.

 

[gobirds85]

ISU is "damned if we don't, and damned if we do". Sometimes you just have to pick and choose your fights and this is one we cannot win.