The Mizzou Athletics Department is now apologizing after posting a problematic tweet that they claimed was meant to promote diversity.
The tweet appeared to be part of an NCAA inclusion campaign, which kicked off Tuesday, according to Mizzou Athletic’s Twitter.
The University of Missouri of Athletics Department attempted to celebrate the diverse backgrounds and talents of its student-athletes. Specifically, how they are “more than a student-athlete.”
But the tweet seemed to outrage users almost immediately as people began reposting the image.
The message suggested more than they intended, as they shared images of four Mizzou athletes sorted into boxes, each with text referring to themselves. While white athletes like gymnast Chelsey Christensen proclaimed, “I am a future doctor” — and swimmer/diver CJ Kovac said, “I am a future corporate financier.” The black athletes didn’t make any grand proclamations. The text included in their photos didn’t tout anything about their future goals or even their area of study.
Some social media users were outraged over the obvious discrepancy in the posts, calling the tweets insensitive.
In response, The University of Missouri issued an apology, saying:
“Earlier, we made a mistake when we posted a graphic about our student-athletes. 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.”
This is not the first racially insensitive incident for the university. Back in 2015, protests and boycotts led to the resignation of university system president after growing controversy over allegations of racism on campus.
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