In response to racist posts on social media by a University of Alabama Alpha Phi sorority member (who was expelled for her efforts), a former Alabama Football player (who now plays for the New York Giants) Landon Collins posted:

“Alpha Phi, ‘Be weary of the company you keep for they are a reflection of who you are or who you want to be.’ Harley Barber didn’t wake up this morning and decide to spew racist rhetoric for the first time in her life. Therefore, I believe I speak on behalf of my brothers and myself when I say the Bama football team does not need the support, cheers or high fives of anyone who condones this type of intolerant, hateful behavior. #BuiltByBama”

The University’s student newspaper The Crimson White Tweeted “What steps do you think should be taken to address the issue of racism on campus? Tweet us your thoughts.”

One response was: “I mean for starters, not only are the Greek systems segregated, but their houses are on completely different sides of campus. How can there be unity when their houses can’t even co-exist?”

Another: “If UA doesn’t want this image, why have petitions to remove the names of former slaveholders/racists from campus buildings gone unanswered? Landon Garland was a slaveholder & UA president. UA recently refused to rename Morgan Hall, which is dedicated to a known white supremacist.”

And another: “Just have an open and honest conversation!  As you see a little alcohol loosened lips and they expressed their sober thoughts. So there needs to be a town hall meeting situation to express why in the 21 century we still having this conversation”

There is definitely a disconnect on the University campus when it comes to the worship of star black athletes by many students who otherwise may call black students “niggers.”

There was an incident in 2016 when Greeks allegedly mistreated  black bus drivers that may typify the attitudes of some whites on campus.

A charter bus service was hired by Alpha Phi sorority to transport students to the Glory Bound Bar in Tuscaloosa for a “Phiva Las Vegas” party.  Racial slurs were reportedly screamed at a a bus driver who had said that alcohol was prohibited in the bus. The drivers of the two buses involved were allegedly called “dumb niggers.” A drink was purportedly thrown at one driver.

During the ride a group of SAE fraternity members reportedly chanted “Nigger, Nigger, Nigger” along with the music that was on the bus speaker system. Upon leaving the bus several students allegedly hit one on the drivers on the back of his head.

Although at Greek parties the most played music is rap and at football games the fans in the Greek student section rabidly cheer when a black player scores, there are only a few Greek organizations that are integrated.

Jake New posted in Slate:

“We have to remember that the Greek letter system in the United States was founded on pretty harsh and legally supported exclusionary practices,” Matthew Hughey, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut who studies the issue, said. “There’s a normal, mundane type of racism that functions every day, but it’s harder to see.”

Is racist behavior at the University largely a product of its segregated Greek system, or is it a universal trait that could be applied to many of the students who are not affiliated with the school fraternal organizations?

The student from New Jersey who had posted racist videos was expelled by the University.  How many other students who have done equally bad or even worse things have seen similar consequences?

There are cameras everywhere these days recording your every utterance. Perhaps the Alabama football running back Bo Scarbrough should have realized that college athletes truly live in a fishbowl. On the day of the Championship game he may have been reacting to the televised image of President Donald Trump standing next to Reserve Officers Training Corps cadets while mouthing the lyrics to the National Anthem when he allegedly said “Fuck Trump!” in the tunnel that led to the field at the Mercedes Benz Stadium. Sporting News posted a video of his outburst.

Scarbrough has denied saying it. Kyle Rooney posted in HotNewHipHop “Alabama’s Bo Scarbrough Denies Yelling ‘F*ck Trump'”:

Despite the video evidence, Scarbrough has since denied making the anti-trump remark and says everyone simply misheard him.

After Alabama’s 26-23 overtime victory against Georgia, the junior running back quote-tweeted the video footage, “If y’all really listen I said Georgia smh about y’all people in this world.”

Trump was undoubtedly showboating in Atlanta. He was there, as the first President since Richard Nixon to attend a college football National Championship, to further his crusade against the professional football players who had “taken a knee” during the playing of the National Anthem.

Alan Binder and Michael Shear in the New York Times reported:

The president’s appearance at the game seemed intended to emphasize his furious critique of athletes for using football games as a place for protests. Neither team’s players went onto the field on Monday until after the anthem was played, as is standard at college football games.

Charles S. Bullock III, a University of Georgia political scientist who was not planning to attend the game, said he expected that the legions of Crimson Tide and Bulldogs faithful were more focused on the pigskin than the president.

Professor Bullock said he believed the stop in Atlanta — and any cheering from the stands — would probably serve only to stroke Mr. Trump’s ego.

“This is just a sideshow,” he said, “but for him, it’s important.”

ESPN, which televised the game and has been a target of Mr. Trump’s Twitter barbs for years, said it had requested an interview with the president for its broadcast and was turned down.

Tom Schad in USA Today wrote in his article “ESPN says interview with President Trump at national title game unlikely” that:

Trump plans to attend Monday’s game between Alabama and Georgia as a guest of Nick and Jamie Ayers; Nick Ayers is Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff and a Georgia native.

Somewhere along the line Trump’s role as a spectator in a sky box morphed into his being on the field surrounded by ROTC students from Alabama and Georgia while the National Anthem was sung.

Many in the stadium according to Andrew Joseph with MSN Sports had earlier booed Trump When he arrived at the stadium:

Trump didn’t receive a warm welcome as his motorcade pulled up to Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In anticipation of the president’s arrival, a stadium entrance was locked down for over an hour. That forced fans to wait in the rain. Mercedes-Benz Stadium isn’t the easiest stadium to get into for a typical Falcons game, so it’s easy to imagine that Monday’s scene outside was especially chaotic.

Joesph posted CNN’s Andy Scholes’ Tweet:

They locked down @MBStadium for @realDonaldTrump an hour ago and myself and a thousand fans have been waiting in the rain to get in. Let’s just say there were plenty of boos when Trump arrived.

The boos, perhaps from some of the people who had been forced to stand in the rain when the thermometer was registering 40 degrees, continued when Trump was escorted on to the field for the opening ceremonies. Trump left the stadium by halftime. Obviously his purpose for being there had been served.

The professional football player Colin Kaepernic was named as a GQ ‘Man of the Year’ and was depicted on the cover of the January 15th New Yorker with Martin Luther King, Jr.

Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports reported that the artist who created the cover illustration Mark Ulriksen said:

What would King be doing if he were around today? This is 49er country, and my mom and I have been going back and forth — she’s upset that players have brought politics into sports, but I say, How would you feel if you had to show up at work every day and salute a country that treats black people like second-class citizens? I’m glad that Colin Kaepernick and Michael Bennett are making it political. I’m sure that if King were around today, he’d be disappointed at the slow pace of progress: two steps forward, twenty steps back. Or ten yards back, as the metaphor may be.

Colin Kaepernic was quoted by Mark Sandritter in SB Nation:

I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.

Kaepernic has paid a heavy cost and jeapordised his career as a professional ball player because of his stance.

Many Alabama football fans are also followers of Donald Trump. To them Trump can do no wrong. They will be outraged that Bo Scarbough may have “F-bombed” the President.

Hopefully Alabama running back Scarbough will face no severe consequences if he expressed himself in a moment when he was unaware that he would be recorded or that it would be publicized. He might well have been expressing a sentiment that was widely shared by his fellow teammates.