From: Merle Rutledge, Civil Rights Activist, and Norfolk State
University Student - Political Science Major
To: Texas Tech President, and its agents of Texas Tech University,
and Texas Tech football coach Tommy Tuberville
The article on Texas Tech coach embraces birtherism. I feel Texas
Tech should accept his immediate resignation, as his judgement has
seriously lapse into a spiral of racist rhetoric; that the campus
should no longer condone or tolerate. I will do all my efforts to
make sure that their is a civil debate as well as letting Texas Tech
students and future football recruits, and including the university,
tolerates such actions by its coaches and staff. The questions about
the president's birth has been answered and to allow for this
continuous shellacking and ill manner tone from your football coach
only shows the acceptance of racism and its views on athletes of
color. Their should be boycotts, as well as those that dont believe
hate, but spread the message of civility and equality for all people
to have a voice that drowns out such talk. This however, is a
political side show, which puts a university in the midst of less
needed subject. It's time to move on to bigger and better things and
the coach should apologize to his players, as well as university
officials for causing a rift that can affect recruiting and students
from all over America, and from abroad. It has been America biggest
strength to have minds of students from all over the world to nuture
and embrace in education and for the general welfare of better lives
for all people. If universities and colleges embrace more of this
very selective pattern of discrimination; than not only should the
coach be held responsible but the condonation of leadership officials
to not doing anything should be severly scrutinized. I hope in the
end, that the university, staff, and its students do the right thing
to now enhance a insitution of academia and excellent performance;
instead of decide on its merit as race being a wild card. I wish your
university much success and hope for a much needed address on how the
university can become better in light of such defamatory comments made
by its selected leadership. Universities are suppose to be a family,
and sometimes those in the family screw up, but it is up to the
university to still help and not outcast the screw up, but to
encourage those in representation, its agents to continue to strive to
be better. I hope their are more seminars, counselors, and forums to
address building bridges with students in light of this aftermath
instead of burning them. It is a lot more important things to be
doing than worrying about a conspiracy that has trampled on race. It
is the reason that our backgrounds has us in fear and our freedoms are
being striped, because of unreasonable suspicion and foul play. We
use to have a bar of reasonable; which is the lowest standard of
suspicion. Your university and leadership has no right to meet such a
bar; with another form of it, in a way that it should not be used.
The university can do a lot more to address its issues as well as
others in embracing merit, hardwork, and leadership, than patronage
for things the university does not represent.
Merle T. Rutledge Jr
Civil Rights Activist
Norfolk, Va
The article below is my reference to such conduct that should be
eliminated from the university curriculum.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCIQqQIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthinkprogress.org%2F2011%2F04%2F30%2Ftexas-tech-football-coach-tommy-tuberville-embraces-birtherism-on-sean-hannity-show%2F&ei=N6q8TeiyKtSltwfo05W0BQ&usg=AFQjCNFsHPNa1Pw8Xwv2ZnvcHZx3EZVlVw&sig2=dm1bN03thbD9n6az99vE-A
