Cincinnati to strip Schott from its baseball stadium
The University of Cincinnati is removing Marge Schott’s name from its baseball stadium and a library archive in light of her racist comments while owner of the Cincinnati Reds.
The school’s board of trustees unanimously approved the move Tuesday, 12 days after a Catholic high school also decided to remove references to Schott from its facilities. Over the years, UC students, faculty and alumni have objected to Schott’s name on school facilities, but no changes were made.
“Marge Schott’s record of racism and bigotry stands at stark odds with our university’s core commitment to dignity, equity and inclusion,” said school president Neville G. Pinto, who recommended the change.
Saint Ursula Academy in Cincinnati decided to remove Schott’s name from a science, language and arts building that was constructed with the help of her donation.
In other college news:
• Kylin Hill, a star running back at Mississippi State, has threatened to leave the program if the state does not change its flag.
Mississippi is the only state that features the Confederate battle flag as part of its official flag, and it has been under increased pressure recently to move away from that symbol of slavery and the Civil War.
A native of Mississippi, Hill was replying to a tweet sent by the state’s Republican governor, Tate Reeves, who said he didn’t think a “viable alternative” to the flag issue was a proposal under consideration by the legislature to add a second official flag. Pointing to a 2001 state referendum in which voters overwhelmingly chose to keep the current flag, Reeves wrote that a plan similar to the two-flag proposal “would actually divide our state more.”
In response, Hill wrote on Twitter, “Either change the flag or I won’t be representing this State anymore & I meant that.” He added, “I’m tired.”
• Florida State’s president is asking the school to conduct an internal review amid growing support to change the name of its football stadium.
“I’ve been following with great interest the petitions circulating on social media that Doak S. Campbell, FSU’s president in 1947 during its transition from the Florida State College for Women, resisted integration and asking that his name be removed from the stadium that bears his name,” FSU president John Thrasher said in a statement on Twitter. “I have asked Athletics Director David Coburn to immediately review this issue and make recommendations to me. I look forward to receiving his report soon.”
Kendrick Scott, an FSU linebacker from 1991-94, wants Campbell’s name removed from the Seminoles’ stadium. Scott contends Campbell’s segregationist views are divisive.
“Therefore his name should be removed from a stadium that has been home to many black football players helping to build the school and the tradition to what it has become today: a national treasure,” Scott expressed on change.org petition.
• West Virginia has placed defensive coordinator Vic Koenning on administrative leave after a player alleged in a social media post that the assistant coach made a series of insensitive remarks, including against Hispanics.
West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons announced the move after safety Kerry Martin posted the allegations on his Twitter account about Koenning.