In February we wrote about the situation surrounding the East Tennessee State University (ETSU) men’s basketball team. Less than two months later, that situation has changed dramatically.
Earlier this year, the team went viral for kneeling before games. It was, as noted by their head coach Jason Shay at the time, not a form of disrespect to veterans or the flag.
“Our intentions by no means involve disrespecting our country’s flag or the servicemen and women that put their lives on the line for our nation,” Shay said to the Johnson City Press at the time. “You know we hold those heroes near and dear to our hearts, including two generals that have served our country right here in our backyard.
“No one knows the sacrifice, the fear, the pain, the anxiety, the loss that they’ve experienced fighting for our country’s freedom and rights,” said Shay, who is white. “But many of us don’t know the same sacrifice, fear, pain and loss the people of color have had to endure over 400 years.”
In response, every Tennessee GOP state senator signed and fired off a letter to university president Dr. Brian Noland. They expressed their disdain for the team’s actions and wanted them to be punished.
“Most of us are thinking that when you are in that uniform and you are acting as an ambassador for the university and the state, there possibly is a line there that differentiates that freedom of speech,” said State Senator Rusty Crowe.
Many came to the team’s defense, including fans, alumni, local members of the community, and the university itself. That included ETSU’s VP of Equity and Inclusion, Keith Johnson, who issued a strong statement in support of the players.
“We believe that ‘disrespecting the flag’ serves as a red herring fallacy to divert attention away from police brutality, racism, and issues which create much deeper and broader conversations that people just are not ready to have. If ‘disrespecting the flag’ were the real issue, uproar would have erupted on January 6th when violent rioters could be seen beating police officers with the
American flag.”
“The young men on our basketball team are not entertainers;” he wrote. “They are living, breathing human beings who once they step off the court, have the potential to be the next George Floyd.”
But the pressure didn’t stop there.
A few weeks later at a meeting about state university budgets, GOP state senators interrogated Dr. Noland. Instead of focusing on true university budget matters, they focused solely on kneeling. Rather than discussing something of importance such as how Covid affected enrollment, one senator compared kneeling to giving the middle finger to the flag.
Ultimately, it appears that the state GOP’s relentless pressure and campaign of false narratives had the desired effect. On March 30th, ETSU head basketball coach Jason Shay abruptly resigned from the team.
“After much consultation and deliberation, I have decided it is in the best interest of myself, my family and the ETSU men’s basketball program to no longer continue as the head basketball coach,” wrote Shay in a news release. “This past year has been extremely challenging for me in many different ways. It is the right time for a new challenge and an opportunity to reset my personal and professional goals. I want to thank Dr. Noland, Scott Carter and Dr. Sander for the opportunity at ETSU and wish them the best of luck moving forward.”
Shay had been with the program for five years before being tabbed as the head coach in 2020. Now some express concern over how the GOP’s efforts affect the school and student-athletes in general.
“When you have a platform, and you have an ability to speak up, you should be able to do that. That’s not something that we as legislators should discourage,” said Democratic state senator Raumesh Akbari to News Channel 11.
Former ETSU player T.J. Cromer told WJHL that he feared this situation would harm the program.
“At this moment, I hate to say it, with me being an alumni, and me loving Johnson City, but it’ll be really hard for recruits to want to go there after these antics just because it shows that the university don’t support the student-athletes values. It’s like their voice doesn’t matter, as long as they are playing ball or you know, entertaining, and selling, you know, helping the university make money, that’s all that matters.”
But some state GOP representatives dismissed these feelings and any claims that they played a part in Shay’s departure.
“If you ask me am I disappointed that he resigned? No. I don’t think he was that strong a coach and obviously his leadership skills leave, I think most of us would say, a lot to be desired.” said state GOP Senator Jon Lundberg to News Channel 11.
One outlet took State Senator Rusty Crowe to task over their targeting of ETSU players. As expected, he held the party line.
“I’m never happy to see anyone lose their job but I understand he resigned, right?” asked Crowe. “Yeah, he got forced out, so boosters, you, were putting pressure on him. So you weren’t sad to see him go?” asked the Tennessee Holler.
“We didn’t put any pressure. No pressure,” said Crowe.
“Your letter didn’t put pressure on the schools?” said the Tennessee Holler.
“I don’t think so,” replied Crowe.
While the exact reason for Shay resigning is not immediately known, it’s clear that it happened after the GOP placed him and his program in their sights.
We will continue to follow this story.
