A group of University of Texas at Austin football players claim donors threatened their career prospects and said they would pull money from the program if the athletes didn’t stay on the field for the institution’s alma mater song after games.
The song, “The Eyes of Texas,” has played at the university for over 100 years, but some athletes on the team began abstaining from being on the field when it’s sung over the view that it has racist undertones after a summer of nationwide demonstrations against racial inequality and police brutality. Even the institution itself acknowledged that the tune was first played at minstrel shows and included a quote from Confederate General Robert E. Lee, following student backlash.
Officials at UT-Austin told the players in October that they were required to partake in the game day tradition, in which players sing the song with fans, and top brass cited emails from angry donors, which threatened athlete career prospects and future funds for the program if their words were not heeded, according to the Texas Tribune.
“My teammates and I got threatened by some alumni that we would have to find jobs outside of Texas if we didn’t participate,” Caden Sterns, a defensive back, wrote in a tweet.
Another player, junior linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, said, “They said y’all don’t have to sing it. But y’all have to stay on the field. Y’all have to go over there and at least show fans appreciation for coming out and watching you guys play.”
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“It was really eye-opening,” Overshown continued. “These are some high-power people that come to see you play, and they can keep you from getting a job in the state of Texas. It was shocking that they said that. To this day, I still think back to the moment. They really used that as a threat to get us to try to do what they wanted us to do.”
Athletic director Chris Del Conte insisted, “We simply asked for their help,” and “no one was forced or required to do so.”
Another UT-Austin athlete, who has not been identified by name, claimed donors threatened to pull money used for a stadium expansion project.
“He kept saying these guys provide this for you. … He was mentioning, ‘We have donors talking about pulling out money from the south end zone [stadium addition project], stopping their donations,’” he said.
Del Conte denied ever uttering words about the donation and job prospect threats. He further added that his “message has consistently been about unity.”
“I never said this, nor would I say this to a student-athlete, and I’ve never heard it from any donors or alumni. My message has consistently been about unity. I’m disappointed if anything anyone else said to our student-athletes caused them to feel this way. That concerns me,” he said in a statement. “I’ve talked to several student-athletes about this and am happy to talk to anyone to let them know that this is not true. I’ve only seen our alumni work to support our student-athletes.”
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The song previously drew headlines when former quarterback Sam Ehlinger was present on the field for the “The Eyes of Texas” tradition during a game against the University of Oklahoma in October while the rest of his teammates sat in the locker room.
UT-Austin did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
UT-Austin President Jay Hartzell announced in October the creation of the Eyes of Texas History Committee, which the university says will release its full report on March 9.
