Last week, University of Texas back-up center Buck Burnette learned a very valuable lesson about both his Facebook and racist status, after he posted the disturbing hillbilly-like message "all the hunters gather up, we have a #$%&er in the whitehouse" on his personal page and was subsequently kicked off the team. Too bad -- because this week Burnette could have started, since starting junior center Chris Hall will miss Saturday's game at Kansas due to a sprained left knee. Instead, freshman David Snow will get the nod. Hopefully, he doesn't say anything stupid on his Facebook page over the next two days.(Note: Not the same David Snow's Facebook.)
Yes, you could be forgiven for thinking it's 1968. No, this sort of thinking really isn't OK anymore...even in Texas. Not surprisingly, none of Burnette's teammates, especially the African-American ones, seem to be complaining about Burnette's dismissal from the team. Perhaps that's because, even in 2008, race is a subject never far below the surface in Texas, especially at UT, which has it's own sad history when it comes to race relations. Jim Crow, historically speaking, wasn't all that long ago, and it still reverberates in the state today.
OK, so perhaps Burnette's (&^%-up can be laid to the ignorance and insensitivity of youth. Perhaps Burnette's just a "good old boy", a redneck who never quite grew up, never learned much of Texas hsotory or the history of the Civil Rights era, and knows little beyond the chalk lines that outline a football field. Perhaps he just didn't care, which seems kind of odd given that he dressed, showered, and played with a football team composed of a large number of African-Americans. Whatever the case, if Texas Coach Mack Brown hadn't kicked him off the team, a large-scale revolt may well have followed. Brian Orakpo, one of the Longhorns team leaders and an African-American, called Burnette's dismissal appropriate. Indeed; how else do you deal with such thoroughly disrespectful behavior?
With any luck, Burnette will learn from his ignorance and insensitivity and go on to make something of his life. If the worst thing that happens to him is that he's no longer allowed to play football for the University of Texas, he'll lead a charmed life. Having said that, though, the kid's got a lot of work to do in order to convince people that he's not an ignorant, unreconstructed bigot with a Facebook page.
Good luck with that....
Nice work, dumb@$$....
