A new motto adopted by the University of Texas’ football team has ignited backlash, according to reports Sunday.
Texas Longhorns’ football head coach Steve Sarkisian has assigned the team the slogan “embrace the hate” for the upcoming football season. The university’s bookstore has reportedly started selling the slogan on official t-shirts.
Sarkisian says that new motto is a nod to the intense criticism the program has received over their decision to leave the Big XII conference for the Southeastern Conference (SEC) starting in the 2024 season. (RELATED: Vince Young Claims Playing Quarterback At Texas Is Pretty Much The Same As Being An NFL QB)
“I think that they’ve kind of assumed this mentality of, ‘Embrace the hate.’ We get it. We’re the University of Texas, we get it. This is our last year in the Big 12,” he said to ESPN.
“We can sit there and be a punching bag, or we can go attack the people that we’re going to play. And I think that they’ve assumed that responsibility to say, ‘Hey, we’re gonna go after everybody else too.’ I think that that’s the right mentality to have.”
Texas AD Chris Del Conte told me this morning his message to the program and this years’s mantra is “Embrace The Hate” because they know people are mad at them for leaving the Big 12
Here’s the full interview:https://t.co/APJhasLwCZ pic.twitter.com/DNVma1TcEl
— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) August 23, 2023
However, some have alleged the slogan has racially charged undertones.
“I am guessing this is sports-related, but to anyone not in on that, it appears to be a white supremacist message,” one person wrote on Twitter, according to Fox News.
“Now, what in the no-Black-people-work-here hell is this? Come on UT. You’re the flagship university of Texas. Let’s do better.” another person wrote on Twitter, per the outlet.
“Not good, y’all. As a triple UT alum, I am not proud of this,” another Twitter user wrote.
“Exactly who at @utaustin authorized this literally hateful use of the Longhorn brand? Asking for all faculty working to instill a positive learning community in our classes and on campus. Surely there are better ways to show UT pride,” The American Association of University Professors, University of Texas at Austin chapter wrote on Twitter.
“A white supremacist shot three Black people at a supermarket in Florida today after stalking an HBCU so yes, I happen to think an officially licensed product of @utaustin that says ‘Embrace the Hate’ would seem a bit tone deaf. I’m funny that way,” wrote another Twitter user.