A racist Charlie Strong T-shirt claims ‘Black Is The New Brown’ (Photo)
On Jan. 6, the University of Texas introduced Charlie Strong as its new head football coach, making him the first African-American head coach of a male team in the school’s history.
But not everyone is on board with the changing of the guard.
Someone – it’s unclear whether it was a Texas fan or otherwise – created a Texas-themed shirt with Strong’s face and the words, “Black Is The New Brown” in a tasteless attempt to be funny. The Brown, of course, refers to former coach Mack Brown, who stepped down after 16 seasons.
The shirt was selling for $19.95 on the goods website Etsy and has since been taken down. But not before a screenshot of the shirt was taken and the description for the item was copied:
After 16 years as head coach of the Longhorns, Mack Brown is stepping down to make way for Charlie Strong as the new head coach. Celebrate Charlie Strong’s arrival in style.
It’s stuff like this that, according to NPR, gave Strong pause when offered the Texas job. Edith Royal, wife of the late, great Darryl K. Royal, called Strong and urged him to take the position. Royal’s 1969 team was the last all-white national championship squad. Tight end Julius Whittier became the first African-American to play for the Longhorns in 1970 and the landscape of the school was changed forever.
It was further changed with the hiring of Strong.
But as this ill-advised T-shirt shows, everyone everywhere still has a long way to go.
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is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!Follow @YahooDrSaturday