(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
For those who do not follow sports, there is an important, titanic college football game happening this weekend. The Alabama Crimson Tide take on the LSU Tigers in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. LSU has a decent quarterback, Joe Burrow, this year. So, when ‘Bama inevitably boat races them and reduces Burrow to a twitchy, human recreation of Fiver from Watership Down, the defeat will be particularly bitter.
I’d like to talk more about the game, but unfortunately we live in a world where the President of the United States is a jejune narcissist who refuses to let us have nice things. Donald Trump is continuing his national tour of looking for a sports audience to cheer him. He got booed at the World Series. He got booed at UFC, which is only surprising to those who think Dana White is representative of actual UFC fans. And so now Trump intends to go to Tuscaloosa to watch the big game.
A sporting event in Alabama might seem like a “safe space” for Trump. But we must remember that going to college seems to be the key factor in making white people understand that Trump is terrible. People who have schooling do not like Trump. Alabama draws a lot of fans who never went to the university or any college at all, but one might expect the Alabama students section, at least, to be vocally against the bigoted president when he comes to campus.
It would appear that a member of the Alabama Student Government Association, Vice President Jason Rothfarb, anticipated some anti-Trump feelings among the student body. This week, ahead of the game, Rothfarb sent out this letter, that was later widely circulated on social media:
“Any organizations that engage in disruptive behavior during the game will be removed from block seating instantly for the remainder of the season,” he wrote.
The only thing that could have made this more chilling to free speech is if Rothfarb had gotten Peter Thiel to cosign the message.
A firestorm erupted, justifiably so, because the free speech rights on the campus of a public university, while attending a sporting event, are among the most ironclad you can get without the aid of Russian interference. Trust me, I’m a Mets fan — the right to boo is among our most scared.
The pushback caused Rothfarb to clarify his statement, blaming others for “misinterpretation” as we’re now all trained to do when caught being stupid in public:
“Some have misinterpreted my comment regarding “disruptive behavior.” As with other games this season, Organization’s Block Seating locations will be clearly marked, but at certain times, other students can and should have access to open seats. By disruptive behavior, we are asking students to be respectful to all students and staff and avoid altercations.
Normally, I’d dismiss this walk-back out of hand. But… BUT… I mean… this is ‘Bama/LSU. Earlier this year, LSU played Vanderbilt in Nashville and, apparently, DRANK A BAR OUT OF VODKA BY 9:00 A.M.! The specter of hooliganism is real when these two programs meet. Young people will be drunk, rowdy, and one faction or the other will be losing. Bad things can happen. After a Harvard/Yale game one year, we lost and the Yale fans rushed the field and mooned our side and I started throwing dog biscuits at their asses until I was escorted out by “friends” (who were maybe “security guards,” but I remember them as friends). And drunken Harvard/Yale is to drunken Bama/LSU as a scented candle is to a flamethrower.
Rothfarb’s retcon of his warning is believable, I suppose. Except, you know who doesn’t believe it? The President of the United States:
Trump retweeted that after the retraction or clarification or whatever was made.
Regardless of what Rothfarb and Alabama actually intended, Trump is using it as an opportunity to chill free speech on campus.
I imagine most Alabama and LSU students just want to go to the game and… stick to sports. And, that’s their right. It’s unfortunate that we live in a country where the president is so desperate for attention that he intrudes himself on every aspect of our lives and culture.
But I’d just remind game attendees that they don’t have to focus on the game and nothing else. Alabama is not run by Jim Spanfeller. If you want to voice your displeasure at the current president, that is your right to do so.
You don’t even have to go full Nika Riot. You can leave that work to the people present should Trump ever be foolish enough show up to a WNBA game.
Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and a contributor at The Nation. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.