Wisconsin Athletes Decry Campus Racism

[Aughnanure]

Several Wisconsin Athletes Decry Racism On Campus, Demand Change

http://deadspin.com/several-wisconsin-athletes-decry-racism-on-campus-dema-1788686557

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/17997039/wisconsin-badgers-players-cite-racial-bias-demand-change

[Benny B]

Wait a second, [checks phone]... it isn't April 1st. 

Racism in Madison? Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes... The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

[MU82]

This was a pretty major theme in Madison when I worked there from 1983-85.

The more things change ...

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I hate all Badgers on principal, but I'll give these students a tip of the hat. Many in their position would keep their heads down and say nothing. It takes guts to call out your own fanbase on something like this. I wonder if any of their white teammates joined them (not a judgement, honest curiosity).

[rocket surgeon]

oh, so if the chancellor says something, then like sheep, all the students will hold hands in the stadium and sing kum-ba-ya....if people don't know this is wrong by now....?  i am very surprised that this wasn't taken care of in the crowd, showing others that this will NOT be tolerated anywhere.  i don't care if it's "free speech"  there are consequences to "free speech"  whoever this dude/dudess was, is without hope if they cannot see that this is wrong?  so if the university says it's wrong, then the stupid people out there will get it??  it's going to take a lot more than that unfortunately-probably something more along the lines of...well, you know what i mean.  sometimes people will push the envelope as far as they can before they "get it" and even then, you can't beat the stupid out of some people. 

[keefe]

This sh1t didn't happen on Donna Shalala's watch!

Oh...wait...

[tower912]

Must be tired of getting photo-shopped into pictures.     Long overdue.   

[GGGG]

Before we get on our high horse about this, someone should probably ask how some minority athletes on the Marquette campus feel. I know some have had similar feelings in the past.

[Benny B]

Before we get on our high horse about this, someone should probably ask how some minority athletes on the Marquette campus feel. I know some have had similar feelings in the past.

Newsflash.... minorities feel out of place just about everywhere.  It kind of goes with the territory of being a minority.

What makes this super juicy is that Madison is the epicenter of the Progressive movement and UW is supposedly this bastion of tolerance and opportunity for all regardless of race, gender, creed, etc.  All the while, the sad reality is that racism in and around Madison is alive and well... it's just kept in the shadows.  Heck, if there was an annual college competition for racism, the rankings would look a lot like the AP 25 has over the years: everyone expects a bunch of SEC and Big XII teams but no one can figure out why (or how) UW is always creeping around the top 10 at some point in the season.

In other words, no one here is getting on their high horse... we're just here to watch someone else get knocked off of theirs.


Oh yeah, one more thing..... Superbar.

[Galway Eagle]

Newsflash.... minorities feel out of place just about everywhere.  It kind of goes with the territory of being a minority.

What makes this super juicy is that Madison is the epicenter of the Progressive movement and UW is supposedly this bastion of tolerance and opportunity for all regardless of race, gender, creed, etc.  All the while, the sad reality is that racism in and around Madison is alive and well... it's just kept in the shadows.  Heck, if there was an annual college competition for racism, the rankings would look a lot like the AP 25 has over the years: everyone expects a bunch of SEC and Big XII teams but no one can figure out why (or how) UW is always creeping around the top 10 at some point in the season.

In other words, no one here is getting on their high horse... we're just here to watch someone else get knocked off of theirs.


Oh yeah, one more thing..... Superbar.

You are confusing racism and lack of diversity.

[Bocephys]

[4everwarriors]

Free Chicos 2016

[GoldenDieners32]

Nigel Hayes posted something about it

[wadesworld]

Nigel Hayes posted something about it

Nigel Hayes posts something about everything.

[GoldenDieners32]

Nigel Hayes posts something about everything.

Can't wait till December 10th

[tower912]

Newsflash.... minorities feel out of place just about everywhere.  It kind of goes with the territory of being a minority.

What makes this super juicy is that Madison is the epicenter of the Progressive movement and UW is supposedly this bastion of tolerance and opportunity for all regardless of race, gender, creed, etc.  All the while, the sad reality is that racism in and around Madison is alive and well... it's just kept in the shadows.  Heck, if there was an annual college competition for racism, the rankings would look a lot like the AP 25 has over the years: everyone expects a bunch of SEC and Big XII teams but no one can figure out why (or how) UW is always creeping around the top 10 at some point in the season.

In other words, no one here is getting on their high horse... we're just here to watch someone else get knocked off of theirs.


Oh yeah, one more thing..... Superbar.

Progressive Madison is one facet of the issue.   IMO, a far larger one is the insular lily white nature of most of the rest of the state.    Many students come to Madison having never interacted with people from different ethnic backgrounds on a regular basis.    This is also shown in the on-going meme back in the day where so many Wisconsinites characterized MU athletes as 'thugs' and 'criminals', primarily based on race, while extolling the virtues of their basketball team that usually had more Caucasians and fewer African-Americans.    Remember that?   
So I applaud the athletes speaking out.    Long overdue. 

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Free Chicos 2016

Because we need an overt racist's opinion in order to shed light on this matter

[MUDPT]

Progressive Madison is one facet of the issue.   IMO, a far larger one is the insular lily white nature of most of the rest of the state.    Many students come to Madison having never interacted with people from different ethnic backgrounds on a regular basis.    This is also shown in the on-going meme back in the day where so many Wisconsinites characterized MU athletes as 'thugs' and 'criminals', primarily based on race, while extolling the virtues of their basketball team that usually had more Caucasians and fewer African-Americans.    Remember that?   
So I applaud the athletes speaking out.    Long overdue.

Agree completely.  I live in Madison.  My old boss still tells me the angriest he ever saw me at work was when someone called Marquette players "thugs." When I asked why they thought they were, the answer was Dwight Bucyks's hair.  You will have idiots in every fan base, but I'm confused why it took so long to revoke the tickets and punish those individuals. 

[avid1010]

i like what nigel hayes says about the ncaa.  don't agree with him 100%, but he's a young man taking an interest in what he is involved in.  kids have to figure things out...it's tough to allow them to do so when you don't agree, but i think it's healthy as long as he also listens. 

like that there is discussion, especially in places like madison, about the level of racism is still a major issue that needs to be addressed.  i'm not sure i understand the link to progressive/liberal towns...i don't know many liberals that would claim racism isn't an issue in every town.  the conservative response is that it's typically overblown?

not sure what it feels like to be black at either school, but i've witnessed blatant racism on both campuses.  it would be interesting to know where black students feel more comfortable. 

i suppose you could say madison is getting knocked off its "progressive" high horse...i would think you could also question a whole lot about MU and its "catholic" high horse.  in the end, i'd say it's not true progressives who are acting this way...nor is it true catholics who have done similar at MU. 

[MU82]

i like what nigel hayes says about the ncaa.  don't agree with him 100%, but he's a young man taking an interest in what he is involved in.  kids have to figure things out...it's tough to allow them to do so when you don't agree, but i think it's healthy as long as he also listens. 

like that there is discussion, especially in places like madison, about the level of racism is still a major issue that needs to be addressed.  i'm not sure i understand the link to progressive/liberal towns...i don't know many liberals that would claim racism isn't an issue in every town.  the conservative response is that it's typically overblown?

not sure what it feels like to be black at either school, but i've witnessed blatant racism on both campuses.  it would be interesting to know where black students feel more comfortable. 

i suppose you could say madison is getting knocked off its "progressive" high horse...i would think you could also question a whole lot about MU and its "catholic" high horse.  in the end, i'd say it's not true progressives who are acting this way...nor is it true catholics who have done similar at MU.

Superb comment.

[brewcity77]

i like what nigel hayes says about the ncaa.  don't agree with him 100%, but he's a young man taking an interest in what he is involved in.  kids have to figure things out...it's tough to allow them to do so when you don't agree, but i think it's healthy as long as he also listens. 

like that there is discussion, especially in places like madison, about the level of racism is still a major issue that needs to be addressed.  i'm not sure i understand the link to progressive/liberal towns...i don't know many liberals that would claim racism isn't an issue in every town.  the conservative response is that it's typically overblown?

not sure what it feels like to be black at either school, but i've witnessed blatant racism on both campuses.  it would be interesting to know where black students feel more comfortable. 

i suppose you could say madison is getting knocked off its "progressive" high horse...i would think you could also question a whole lot about MU and its "catholic" high horse.  in the end, i'd say it's not true progressives who are acting this way...nor is it true catholics who have done similar at MU.

+1

Hayes has become one of my favorite Badgers because he seems fairly thoughtful and takes pride in speaking up for what he believes in. I don't always agree with him, and I also applaud Duane's reaction to what Hayes said last month, but I think it's important to have youth engaged in social issues that impact their lives.

[Aughnanure]

Before we get on our high horse about this, someone should probably ask how some minority athletes on the Marquette campus feel. I know some have had similar feelings in the past.

Yeah, I was wondering this. It's really easy to not see it if you don't have to, and I'm hoping we don't have a problem among our student base.

I know I never remember witnessing anything, but then again I was young, naive, busy with figuring out living in a new city/state, and honestly just may just have forgotten something that happened one time.

[Benny B]

like that there is discussion, especially in places like madison, about the level of racism is still a major issue that needs to be addressed.  i'm not sure i understand the link to progressive/liberal towns...i don't know many liberals that would claim racism isn't an issue in every town.  the conservative response is that it's typically overblown?

To be clear, I'm not linking racism to liberal/progressive locales.  What I'm saying is that - strictly in the case of the Madison area, which permeates through the UW campus - what most people see as a model of tolerance and other progressive ideals is far from the reality once you peel back the curtain.  Sure, racism exists everywhere... but where it's most dangerous is in a place where nobody expects it to be.  Madison and the UW keep sweeping their racial issues under the rug... whether it's because they don't want to tarnish their image, because it's not a priority issue, or they don't want the disruption, nobody's cleaning up the mess because, from 10,000 feet, there's no mess at all.  The truth is that - like many cities - Madison has some real problems with race, but unless they shed the facade and deal with it, it's only going to fester.

Again... I'm not saying this happens anywhere or nowhere else.  I'm not purporting any link or correlation.  In fact, I don't even think that other progressive locales are even as prone to the same structural flaw... and that may have something to do with the fact that UW refuses to admit the magnitude of its problem.  Because while issuing an apology and holding a rally for diversity awareness after you get caught photoshopping a black guy into a group of white students is great for window-dressing, it doesn't address the heart of the issue.

[GGGG]

The issues that Madison face, and the issues that UW face, are really two different things.  One has to do with residents who can say one thing about race, but have trouble living it.  UW has more to do with the attitudes of its students in a largely white student body.

BTW, what is UW "refusing to admit?"

[GooooMarquette]

Good opportunity for our student section during rodent intros in a few weeks:

"Ra-cist cam-pus". Clap clap clap clap clap