I understand that they are upset about comments the school president made about Maile. The implication was that she didn’t want a Mormon or Poly coach. She said she wanted someone more diverse.
I fully support the right of these players to make the decision to not play. I also fully support the right for USU to ask each of these players to reimburse them one game worth of scholarship funds.
Why? This is the season where the NCAA guaranteed that if players opt out, they can’t lose their scholarship. I’d rather they played because I like the Aggies, but I wholly support those players to act in accordance to their own consciences.
Apparently the circle jerk ends at a white protestant. All she had to say is we are cutting ties with the Gary Andersen era (his coaches since 2009) and we are looking for an up and coming coach with an exciting system. Instead she threw out an excuse that inferred that culture (a friendly euphemism for race) and religion (good luck fighting that battle anywhere) were contributing factors and predictably it blew up in her face.
If -sports continues in this direction I will find another form of entertainment. The players have every right to leave the University if they don’t like it’s views. They can follow their coach to his new destination. I am not going to invest time or money if sports is used as a weapon to get your way.
Did the players try and resolve the issue on the zoom call?
She may violated federal employment law right there. And I guess you can say hiring a white Protestant is being more divers than a Polynesian Protestant but that’s a tough sell.