In a surprising move Saturday, the University of North Carolina Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham announced that the school would take down the 1957 NCAA basketball title banner that hangs from the rafters in the Dean Smith Center.
Cunningham told reporters that the reason behind the decision was the 1957 team’s lack of diversity.
“That ’57 squad was one of the greatest to ever play the game,” Cunningham said, “but the absence of bla…players of color is disappointing, in my opinion.”
“We’re not going to vacate it, because no one here wants us to have the same number of titles as Duke. That would be a travesty. But we are not going to hold it in the same reverence as our other championship teams.”
Cunningham also cited the recent Silent Sam controversy as inspiration for his decision.
“Silent Sam, like that 1957 team, represents unabashed whiteness,” Cunningham said, “but at least our basketball team didn’t lose like those bigoted Confederates did.”
“I don’t want anyone to ever again associate the University of North Carolina with overwhelming white culture.”
While most UNC students support the decision, former Duke University PhD student Richard Spencer voiced his opposition in recent comments.
“What’s wrong with being white?” Spencer asked. “White people play basketball too, you know. And those guys weren’t afraid to rock those short shorts, because they were confident in their sexuality.”
“I call on my comrades to converge on the city of Chapel Hill to protest. BYOTT, bring your own tiki torch.”
yonkaholic 