The University of Missouri Athletic Department has apologized for a tweet it says was meant to celebrate diversity and be inspirational, but was instead criticized as insensitive.
In the now-deleted post, the tweet (see below) featured athletes and athletic department members, with the athletes supposedly completing the phrase “I am …”
Responses from white athletes included “I am a future doctor,” and “I am a future corporate [financier].” Responses from black athletes, however, were quite different. Runner Arielle Mack says simply, “I am an African American woman.” Student-athlete Chad Jones-Hicks states only, “I value equality.”
The tweet gained traction after many Twitter users expressed outrage at its content, criticizing it for defining Mack and Jones-Hicks by their race instead of their goals and accomplishments.
The Mizzou athletics department issued an apology and a follow-up video.
“Earlier we made a mistake when we posted a graphic about our student-athletes,” the mea culpa read. “We apologize. Our intent was to provide personal information about our students, but we failed. We listened and removed the post. This video better represents our intent to celebrate our diversity.”
