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Oklahoma players, Bob Stoops protest SAE's racist chant

Graham Watson

University of Oklahoma President David Boren has banned the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity (SAE) from campus after a racist video was posted Sunday night to the Internet.

Members of the fraternity have until midnight to move out of the house.

The video, which shows members of the fraternity drunkenly singing a racially charged chant, earned national attention and prompted protests on the Norman campus, including a stand by Oklahoma’s football players and coach Bob Stoops.

Overall, more than 100 athletes gathered in a circle in front of the Barry Switzer statue at the stadium complex, and football player Ty Darlington led the group in a prayer. Basketball coach Lon Kruger also joined the silent protest.

"It’s sad the ignorance that can still be there with some people. It’s just appalling," Stoops told the Tulsa World. "I was here to be with my guys. We all work with beautiful young men and women of all races. It’s just, you know, very little gets me choked up. But that hurt."

When the video surfaced Sunday, several former and current Oklahoma players took to Twitter to express their disgust.

Websites TotalFratMove.com and Complex.com were the first to post the video, which was described as being “recorded by an occupant aboard what appears to be a chartered bus full of Sigma Alpha Epsilon members from the University of Oklahoma.”

The following video is not safe for work:

Complex.com did transcribe the video in case it was ultimately deleted from the Internet.

Brad Cohen, the fraternity’s national president, released a statement supporting the closure of the chapter.

“I was not only shocked and disappointed but disgusted by the outright display of racism displayed in the video,” Cohen said. “SAE is a diverse organization, and we have zero tolerance for racism or any bad behavior. When we learned about this incident, I called an immediate board meeting, and we determined with no mental reservation whatsoever that this chapter needed to be closed immediately. I am proud of my fellow board members because we mean what we say.”

For more Oklahoma news, visit SoonerScoop.com.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!

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