Nay to ‘Eyes’
» Some UT athletes vow they won’t sing school song.
AUSTIN — Pride and unity. A sense of belonging. Maybe even a second place to call “home.”
That’s what Sanya Richards-Ross felt Aug. 31, 2002, as she belted out the lyrics to “The Eyes of Texas” alongside tens of thousands of sweat-stained fans crammed into Royal-Memorial Stadium.
But the emotions that draped Richards-Ross that day faded when she learned of the school song’s origin story. The Texas track star’s husband, former Longhorns All-America cornerback and Fox Tech standout Aaron Ross, delivered that stinging lesson.
She was “furious” — about the song’s link to Robert E. Lee, about its ties to early 1900s minstrel shows performed by the Texas Cowboys in blackface, about the lack of education.
“I looked at the young men on the field, most of them Black,” Richards-Ross wrote in a guest post for Elle.com. “Then I turned around and looked into the VIP suites, where the mostly white donors and university officials sit. Did they know how hurtful the song is? Did they even care?”
Replacing “The Eyes of Texas” was one of several requests made June 12 by dozens of current studentathletes. On Monday, Texas interim president Jay Hartzell released a letter to the UT community listing several changes and initiatives made in response.
Several of the university’s decisions were met with applause.
A $160 million investment to make education affordable for Texans from middle- and low-income families; honoring Julius Whittier, a Highlands graduate and UT’s first Black letterman, and Heman M. Sweatt, the first Black student accepted to the Texas School of Law, with statues and exhibits; renaming Joe Jamail Field at DKR to Campbell-Williams Field in honor of African American Heisman Trophy winners Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams.
But the song, a major point of contention for many Longhorns past and present, will remain “in its current form.”
“Aspects of its origin, whether previously widely known or unknown, have created a rift in how the song is understood and celebrated, and that must be fixed,” Hartzell said. “It is my belief that we can effectively reclaim and redefine what this song stands for by first owning and acknowledging its history in a way that is open and transparent.”
Win or lose, each and every Texas game ends the same. Athletes trudge or skip over to the student section, throw up the “Hook ’em Horns” sign, and sing “The Eyes of Texas.” It’s a tradition expected to live on despite all the recent outcry.
But it’s a tradition that is no longer mandatory. Though the school has never formally required players to remain standing and singing on the field, the external — and perhaps internal — pressure to do so left players with little recourse.
Now, it appears many will opt of performing the song. Texas junior safety Caden Sterns was among those who reacted positively to some of Hartzell’s letter, but he also was among the first to opt out of “The Eyes of Texas.”
“Great day to be a Longhorn,” the former Steele star tweeted Monday. “Want to thank the students, athletes, alumni and those behind the scenes working who made this happen. Looking forward to making more positive change on campus.”
In response to a comment on the original post, he added, “I will not sing the song.”
Sterns, who is biracial, isn’t alone. Several Longhorns chimed in with their support, saying they also will head to the locker room rather than remain on the field for “The Eyes of Texas.”
Senior safety Chris Brown, redshirt junior defensive back Josh Thompson, junior cornerback D’Shawn Jamison and junior linebacker Juwan Mitchell all tweeted that they would join in Sterns’ protest of the song.
Same goes for Ross, who “stopped singing it a long time ago.”
But “The Eyes” will remain, stubborn and rooted into the essence of the 136year-old university. Buildings and statues dedicated to staunch racists and segregationists such as Gov. Jim Hogg and former university president Theophilus Painter also won’t be renamed or removed as student-athletes requested.
“Now it’s time for action,” Sterns said. “Action and unity are the things that we really need to focus on, because that’s what it’s going to take if you really want change to happen.”