College tennis player suspended for racist comment
Appalachian State University has suspended a member of its men’s tennis team after the player was accused of making a racist comment to a black opponent during a match.
Spencer Brown, an Appalachian State freshman who is white, allegedly told his opponent ”at least I know my dad” during Sunday’s match against North Carolina A&T, a historically black college.
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John Wilson IV, a North Carolina A&T senior, tweeted the accusation after the match, noting that it was not Brown’s only racist comment during the contest.
Hey #NCAT this is Spencer brown, a tennis player at Appalachian state. During our match today, along with other racist comments, Spencer told me, “At least I know my dad.” Their coach responded by saying, “..we have a black guy on our team.”
Black twitter, do ya thing. pic.twitter.com/ZRN61zCU2n
— John Wilson IV (@jpheze) January 29, 2018
Appalachian State apologized for the incident the following day, and announced that Brown had been suspended indefinitely. The school called his behavior “derogatory and offensive.”
Wilson, who is also the senior class president at A&T, said Monday that he had not yet been contacted by Brown.
Update: Even though I have yet to be reached out personally from the administration of Appalachian State. The athletics program suspended Spencer indefinitely! Thank you all for the help, this is something I’ve always dealt with being a black tennis player. #NCAT pic.twitter.com/9MqHvTe6fR
— John Wilson IV (@jpheze) January 29, 2018
Brown beat Wilson, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 4 singles, and Appalachian State swept the match 7-0.