For those who don’t follow sports, Bob “Bobby” Knight is a man who made his name in the sport of basketball, coaching major college programs such as Indiana University (where he cemented his legacy as a coach by winning three national championships), and Texas Tech where he coached in the twilight of his coaching career.

While the list of Knight’s on-the-court accomplishments appear to be plentiful, the opposite can be said about Bob Knight as a person off the court. In a 1988 interview with famed media personality Connie Chung, Knight appeared to celebrate the raping of women, stating that “if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it”. In spite of making such an atrocious remark, white society’s reverence for Knight remained as strong as ever. However, his star power would lose some of its luster in 2000 when the news broke that Knight was physically assaulting students. White supremacists and suspected white supremacists alike often dismiss accounts of Knight’s bigotry towards Black players–simply dismissing the coach’s shenanigans as a ‘competitive fire’ used to galvanize the players on his team. In 2000, a Black NBA coach by the name of Butch Carter (who played for Knight at Indiana U) wrote a book which claimed that Knight called his players “niggers”, including his soon-to-be NBA bound star player, Isiah Thomas.

It was written in Carter’s book that the coach “does not like educated, strong-willed Blacks”. This would probably explain why Knight has openly criticized the current climate surrounding the game of basketball, in which Black players are making unlimited amounts of money while taking the trajectory of their careers into their own hands.

Fast forward to last night’s primary in the state of Indiana, and Bob Knight steps forward to announce his endorsement of Donald Trump. “There has never been a presidential candidate prepared to the length that this man is. You will be helping our government take the first step toward what all of us want our government to be like”, the former basketball coach told the crowd of Trump supporters on hand.

While many people would overlook Bob Knight’s endorsement of Donald Trump as happenstance, it should be noted that suspected white supremacists of Knight’s ilk oftentimes have open access to Black youths–namely young Black males–where they become revered as “father figures” and mentors to these unsuspecting Melanoid youth…only for them to expose their suppressed white supremacist tendencies and hatred (for Black people) years after countless young Black men have been groomed and influenced by them. Bob Knight and his role in the lives of young Black men over the years highlights the desperate need for strong Black male leadership for the next generation of Black males.

B. Clark

In light of a heart-wrenching story on Raw Story about how terrified these young Melanoid students are about the possibility of them getting killed by white extremists on campus, many of the same racists have taken to Twitter, letting their presence-and racist intentions–be felt by all who cares to read. On Twitter, there has been a hashtag named #BlacksOnCampus, which has been trending heavy on the popular social media site. However, white supremacist trolls have begun to use the hashtag in their own way, resulting to name calling and an outright display of disrespect towards the brave Melanoid young men who have stood brave in the face of the adversity. Here are just a few of the Tweets left by the trolls:

https://twitter.com/TeaPartyStance/status/664568830837071873

https://twitter.com/USA_First_2016/status/664623251226783744

I avoid niggers>the result is my life doesnt get threatened, backup plan is concealed carry. #Mizzou #BlacksOnCampus https://t.co/zBDkwk6ucL

— EscapeVelocity (@EscapeVelo) November 12, 2015

https://twitter.com/JNasty720/status/664614905492828160

Trolling #BlacksOnCampus in 3..2..BAM! Lol pic.twitter.com/jXGvr7wmhf

— tom riddle (@v0ld4m0rt) November 12, 2015

As you can see, white supremacists are in an uproar over the simple fact that the Black football athletes of the University of Missouri realized that their purpose in society meant much more than just scoring touchdowns and sacking quarterbacks. It’s no secret that for years, Black basketball and football athletes have been accepted–and even celebrated–under the condition that they remained seen and not heard. This means that they’ve been expected to be good athletes, marginal students, and racially transparent.

In conjunction with these laughable expectations placed upon Black athletes by members of the dominant society, it should be noted that in the competitive hierarchy of the NCAA, the Mizzou football team is part of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

This collegiate sports conference has long been recognized as ground zero for its athletic programs which recruit young and impressionable Black males from the rural areas of places of the South such as Alabama and Mississippi, notoriously racist coaches (who are celebrated to this day) like Paul “Bear” Bryant & Adolph Rupp, and last but not least, the extensive network of the “good ol’ boys” who seek out young able-bodied Black “bucks” to lead their respective athletic programs to the promised land (which is a national championship).

In hindsight, after knowing all of this about the University of Missouri’s athletic conference affiliation and its home state’s recent history of racial calamity, it comes as no surprise that this campus was primed and ready for this past week’s series of events to occur in the first place.

B. Clark