Facebook group lands USC football player in hot water
Trojan football players create and join 'racist' Facebook group as a 'joke.'
Elizabeth Geli
Issue date: 3/8/07 Section: News
An inside joke on the USC football team went awry when a Facebook group sparked outrage among students.
The racist Facebook group was created by a USC football player and showed a graphic of a black baby in handcuffs. An athletic department source said the group was a joke and had no serious purpose.
Junior linebacker Clay Matthews created the group, "White Nation," which featured a graphic with the caption, "arrest black babies before they become criminals."
Teammates David Buehler, Brian Cushing, Dan Deckas and Dallas Sartz joined the group.
"This group is not for the faint of heart," read the group's description. "All members are athletes of Caucasion (sic) descent. DISCLAIMER: In no way are the following memebers (sic) intolerant of others, we are just doing our duty of protecting the Arian (sic) brotherhood."
An athletic department source who wished to remain anonymous said the group was a joke and had no serious purpose.
The "joke" began when a black football player nicknamed some of his teammates "White Nation," the source said.
Stefanie Gopaul, a freshman majoring in psychology, discovered the group through her Facebook friendship with Sartz and Cushing and sent private messages to both, expressing her concern.
"Dallas Sartz said that White Nation is a joke on the team and that he's not like that," Gopaul said. "I was still really upset about it."
Gopaul created the Facebook group, " Clay Matthews (USC football player) expresses anti-black sentiment," and invited all of her Facebook friends to join.
"I honestly thought (Sartz and Cushing) were taking me as a joke," Gopaul said. "I posted the group so that they would know that (the White Nation group) is inappropriate."
The group received a strong response, at one time having as many as 90 members, and students expressed their outrage on the group message board and in personal messages to Gopaul.
"I received some very upset comments," Gopaul said. "A high school student wrote to me and said he wanted to go to 'SC next year and that he was glad I created the group and that it made him look at the school differently."
The racist Facebook group was created by a USC football player and showed a graphic of a black baby in handcuffs. An athletic department source said the group was a joke and had no serious purpose.
Junior linebacker Clay Matthews created the group, "White Nation," which featured a graphic with the caption, "arrest black babies before they become criminals."
Teammates David Buehler, Brian Cushing, Dan Deckas and Dallas Sartz joined the group.
"This group is not for the faint of heart," read the group's description. "All members are athletes of Caucasion (sic) descent. DISCLAIMER: In no way are the following memebers (sic) intolerant of others, we are just doing our duty of protecting the Arian (sic) brotherhood."
An athletic department source who wished to remain anonymous said the group was a joke and had no serious purpose.
The "joke" began when a black football player nicknamed some of his teammates "White Nation," the source said.
Stefanie Gopaul, a freshman majoring in psychology, discovered the group through her Facebook friendship with Sartz and Cushing and sent private messages to both, expressing her concern.
"Dallas Sartz said that White Nation is a joke on the team and that he's not like that," Gopaul said. "I was still really upset about it."
Gopaul created the Facebook group, " Clay Matthews (USC football player) expresses anti-black sentiment," and invited all of her Facebook friends to join.
"I honestly thought (Sartz and Cushing) were taking me as a joke," Gopaul said. "I posted the group so that they would know that (the White Nation group) is inappropriate."
The group received a strong response, at one time having as many as 90 members, and students expressed their outrage on the group message board and in personal messages to Gopaul.
"I received some very upset comments," Gopaul said. "A high school student wrote to me and said he wanted to go to 'SC next year and that he was glad I created the group and that it made him look at the school differently."
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 277
Erik Ta
posted 3/08/07 @ 12:13 AM PST
C'mon, are you serious? this is some self-righteous bull shitezah. Unnecessary pseudo-PC whistle-blowing. Saying this w/o malicious intent, Steph finish your GEs and intro to psych courses before you start crusading. (Continued…)
Jason
posted 3/08/07 @ 6:32 AM PST
A 90 person group causes the athletic dept to take action?!? How about the several thousand strong that want to take back the stadium and give students our seats on the 50-yard line? Take some action there Tim!
Ted
posted 3/08/07 @ 9:05 AM PST
it was stupid to put that group on facebook but come on, another example of how our country is so darn politically correct. I am glad Stephanie has time from her psych degree to police the internet for us. (Continued…)
Greg
posted 3/08/07 @ 9:59 AM PST
Ridiculous. This is only an issue at all, let alone front page news, because the group's author is on the football team. If you're gonna play the PC police, why not start with the big stuff first? How do all those quoted feel about the UCLA Sucks at Everythings of the facebook world? It's offensive to make a small, inside joke between less than a dozen football players, but ok to institutionally insult another school of great standing? Personally, I think both are fine (it's called a sense of humor), but come on. (Continued…)
Matt
posted 3/08/07 @ 10:20 AM PST
This is retarted...why even write an article about this. Obviously an inside joke, maybe we should stay out of the personal life's of the football team
BD
posted 3/08/07 @ 1:18 PM PST
Wow! Some PC minded freaks decided to exploit an inside joke and ruin players lives. I agree that racism is not a joke; however, neither is dragging players' names through the mud after a joke among friends, including African Americans, was spun in a different direction. (Continued…)
Skip
posted 3/08/07 @ 2:08 PM PST
Personally, I think it's just a stupid joke...but you question the intelligence of these guys -- not just the misspellings but thinking this wouldn't come to light and, coming to light, wouldn't cause a problem. (Continued…)
snowballa
posted 3/08/07 @ 2:44 PM PST
having pics of shackled black babies is poor taste. racism is still alive people and although the intent was not malicious, just putting it up on the facebook like that is going to draw a negative response. (Continued…)
Yahtzee
posted 3/08/07 @ 4:10 PM PST
This is whack, yo
Mr. Goodbar
posted 3/08/07 @ 4:22 PM PST
GET OVER IT!!!!!!!!! It's a completely harmless joke taken totally out of context by a kid. Sure, it may not have been the smartest thing ever done, but not all football players are known for their academic clout, now are they? Just drop it, freshman, and get on with whatever life is some unfulfilling and boring to you that you have to stir up controversy over a football team's sense of humor. (Continued…)
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