I woke up on Thursday to this story.
A test question in a medical school exam contained the phrase “I can’t breathe” as part of a patient diagnosis and was controversial enough that the professor apologized and promised to review course materials for “intrinsic bias, microaggressions, and other problematic or traumatizing content.”
I actually wanted to write about that, but seeing as how this is a football site, that seemed a bit far-fetched.
Then, Florida President Kent Fuchs released the following statement:
“While I know of no evidence of racism associated with our “Gator Bait” cheer at UF sporting events, there is horrific historic racist imagery associated with the phrase. Accordingly, University Athletics and the Gator Band will discontinue use of the cheer.”
That horrific racist imagery he’s referring to is that African American children have apparently been referred to as “alligator bait” in the past and may have been used to lure alligators during hunts in Florida. My brother texted me when he saw the announcement and I think summed it up pretty well.
“I mean….holy shit I didn’t even know about that piece of history until now. It’s really gut-wrenching and I’ve learned something horrible about the past, but I would bet a hefty sum of money that the majority of fans have not used that as a derogatory term….”
And therein lies the issue.
Mocking George Floyd or Eric Garner by using the phrase “I can’t breathe” is deplorable behavior. But accidently having it appear in a test question that was written before the Floyd incident has zero intent. I mean, is it a fair expectation that a professor goes back to read every single document he has generated for class anytime there is an incident in a different state?
And calling a small, black child alligator bait – especially after learning about the horrific history associated with the phrase – is likewise deplorable. But I know there isn’t any ill intent when a Gator fan yells it at the opposition on the football field.
Northpoint pastor Andy Stanley gave a talk in 2013 that changed the way I look at relationships.
Stanley described all relationships as having expectations and reality, and when those two things don’t match, there’s a gap. It’s then up to the person who identifies the gap to decide what to do next.
They can fill that gap with distrust and suspicion or they can fill it with trust. They can decide to gossip with coworkers or other complain to their friends or they can go to the person who fell short and deal with the conflict directly.
We don’t do that anymore.
A professor includes wording perceived to be insensitive in a question and students go onto an online chat forum rather than just go and tell the professor. President Fuchs decides to ban a cheer started by former safety Lawrence Wright and has an official with the University Athletic Association notify him rather than calling Wright himself.
Some fans decide to excoriate Fuchs on Twitter even though I believe it is clear that his intent is to be sensitive. Others condemn those hurt by the decision as racist when it is clear that their intent is to retain the memories and traditions that they have from their time at Florida.
I can agree or disagree with Fuchs decision. I can think that it is an overreaction to recent events or I can think it is a wise decision because of a history I didn’t know until today. But the reality is that it doesn’t really matter what I think because Fuchs is the one who gets to make the decision. And I trust that he has the University’s best interests at heart, whether I agree with his decision or not.
If you go back and look at Florida’s traditions, most of them are relatively new. Yes, Mr. Two Bits started his cheer in 1949. But Ben Hill Griffin Stadium didn’t become “The Swamp” until Spurrier gave it that name in 1992. The “Work ‘Em Silly Gators” sign didn’t make an appearance until 1993. And Wright helped kick-off the Gator Bait cheer back in 1995.
We’ll come up with new traditions.
Hopefully we’ll start learning how to fill the gaps in our relationships too.
Katie
Excellent commentary. Thank you! I love the Gators, love our traditions. I love my fellow man even more. And I am grateful and respect Dr. Fuchs for his work as our UF president. God bless the Gator Nation and Go Gators!
tom
Do you realize the the National Anthem was written by a gentleman that was a slave owner? So when do we start hearing cry’s to have the US drop that? I have relatives that fought for the confederacy during the civil war. My 3rd cousin 2 times removed was Julia Dent, her family was huge into slave ownership………she was also the wife of Ulysses Grant. I find it offensive to hear African Americans refer to each other using the “N” word, in fact as a kid the 1st time I heard someone call another that word in school. I was shocked and totally confused, and went home that afternoon to questioned why was I taught to not ever say that word and the reasons why, only to have the very part of population it was supposed to be offensive to,,,,,in fact use it on each other like it was a part of their every day vocabulary? Mike Gundy this week drew fire, for wearing a t-shirt that had the initials OAN (American News Network),while out fishing ……….
I’ve grown really tired of all this hyper sensitivity…………..I cant help what my ancestors my have done or said, all I can do and/or be responsible for is ME! I am a direct result of genetics, the values and mores I was taught as a child, and finally lessons I’ve learned along the way,,,,,,,(the good, the bad, and sometimes the occasional ugly) have helped me gain wisdom that no book or classroom could have introduced me to. Yet I still don’t consider myself a finished product, but a constantly evolving one.
The Gator Bait cheer isn’t racist…………nor was its intent ever intended to be…….at some point folks are going to have to start saying “No”, your not high-jacking this due to your professed hyper sensitivity or else it will never end……because one way or the other everything it appears, if one trys hard enough can be linked to something offensive………
Larry
Give me a break! What Fuchs has done is create division on this issue when there never wasn’t any. Where does this end? Hood luck to him trying to police this one. A terrible overreach of political correctness, based on some fictional cartoon.
Sid
Will, I know you didn’t grow up a Gator fan so I’ll cut you some slack on your lack of knowledge about our traditions. The Gator Bait chant has been a part of UF long, long before Lawrence Wright was even born. I’ve been a Gator fan since the Sixties, and it was well established then. Never, ever have I heard of it being used in a racially demeaning context. I won’t cut president Fuchs the same slack, though. Some fool has been looking under proverbial rocks for a sin that doesn’t exist, and came up with this canard to shame us with. Fuchs should have laughed it off and moved on, but instead decided to cave to the mob mentality and wave the flag of faux virtue. This kind of leadership is anything but. I am ashamed to have him as president of my alma mater.
Charles Woodbury
I don’t trust Fusch anymore. This was extremely poor leadership in my eyes. Creating a problem that didn’t exist is undeniably a failure. It also really makes me question who has his inner ear and the influence they have on him and the university.
Ben Bennett
How will you feel when “We are the boys of old Florida” is banned? That’s coming next. Will you be able to take a stand on THAT? Watch and see.
Will Miles
I purposefully didn’t say whether I was for or against removal of the cheer. I have an opinion on the matter but I kept that to myself because the whole point of the article was that a conversation is necessary when your reality doesn’t meet expectations. Ganging up on people on Twitter or message boards isn’t taking a stand. It’s just being divisive.
woody
stand up and be a man. our entire country is under attack. they’re toppling statues of abolitionists and Gahndi. they’re claiming rope pulls are nooses. this will destroy our beloved college football. there is no end to this. no end ever. just like the statues, they didn’t stop with Confederate soldiers, they even toppled US Grant. they won’t stop with this. soon the only chant allowed will be BLM. and you won’t be able to go to the game unless you agree to knell during the anthem.
Will Miles
You may note that I didn’t say how I feel about the banning of the cheer. That was intentional, Woody. It was intentional because I’m not interested in what “they” are doing. I’m interested in how “I” behave and react. If enough of us control how “we” behave, there won’t be a need to be concerned about “them”.
R MacLaren
“We are the Boys” now contains the line “We will all stick together / for FLORIDA”; it used to be sung “In all kinds of weather/we will all stick together/for any old state down our way.” So, there has been some well deserved modification as well.
Mike scott
I have a gator t shirt from the late 60s that says ” if you ain’t a gator you’re gator bait ! Lawerence wright did NOT invent that phrase Will .Fuchs did what most racist right wing white men do when people stand up to racism he throws a bone like ” no more gator bait cheer ” to act like he cares when it actually does nothing to change the way blacks are treated in America
Will Miles
First time I’ve ever heard Fuchs called right wing. I have an opinion. Wasn’t the point of the article. The point of the article was conversations are necessary when you’re upset about something someone did. I didn’t do it to you, so I’m not the source of your ire. Write to Fuchs or write to the University. They’re the ones you need to talk to.
Thomas
The systematic dismantling of all identities that makes us The United States of America by the cover of virtual signaling. We can take any random set of facts to make any position. This is what is happening with the Gator Bait Cheer. This non sense has been building; however, when you point these types of ridiculous behaviors out people use to act like it is fringe, but now the typical person will see how dangerous this behavior is. Being born and raised in NE Gainesville trust me not one of those 90 Plus thousand fans doing the Gator Chomp in combination with the Gator Bait Cheer for almost all black players had only admiration for their fellow student athletes and not racism in the slightest. This will be helpful because people can see how the best version of themselves is being manipulated. Its really sad, but a beginning of people waking up to reject this destructive behavior. Just in my my world I see people waking up. Can’t wait till sports brings people together again. “If your Not A Gator, Your Gator Bait!”
Will Miles
Thanks for reading Thomas. I’d ask, who are you pointing this out to? Is it the person who is doing what you perceive as virtue signaling? Or is it calling that person ridiculous or overreactive to your friends who agree with you?
Thomas Moss
I’m a deep thinker and take big overall view on things and a bad author. People that disagreed with me to the level of either thinking virtue signalers were either harmless or just a fringe group.
So you have a non political average Joe. All of a sudden they are being told about systemic racism because of the Gator Bait cheer they use to express with love and admiration and it needs to be cancelled. Or something close to that line of thinking.
So they realize hey this type of thinking is not fringe. Then the people that disagree with me in the past can’t brush off lets say shutting down free speech as just a small group of radicals.
So then this is a segway for people to then take the time to look at the data, reflect on the Constitution, and how they live everyday.
I chose to use the term virtual signaling because not doing the Gator Chomp Cheer is not going to accomplish anything . They in essence got rid of a bunch of good and accomplished nothing.
Getting out of football..
To me most of these are true feeling and people are just grasping at what they can hold on to, but is misdirected. For instance, you have trust fund children feeling guilty because of their ‘white privileged’ which is insulting to poor whites joining Antifa.
So the Gator Bait Cheer and Antifa is apple and oranges. However the energy and synergy behind the creation and outcomes have many similarities.
Once people understand the possibilities of certain types of models they can begin to understand the possibilities of potential outcomes in the past, present and future.
You know we live in this crazy place and I just needed that outlet. Working 60 hours a week, being an active parent and grand parent, keeping up with enough world events to plan for the future so I google Gator Football. Then basically your cheering is racist action and it will be stopped.
Thomas
We can offer up some additional virtue signaling. Perhaps UF should get rid of the term Master Degree or the Army should get rid of the term Master Sergeant. We know every slave had a Master. These terms are institutionalized and therefore systemic. Honestly the above statement has more credibility than a Gator football player coining the term Gator Bait. I like how Lawrence Wright stated Gator Culture, absolutely agree! I’m afraid to mention this because well if the cancel people get a hold of it it may become a thing, but with the logic of being able to expose these cancel people it would be worth it.
Richard Weber
This was a very poor decision by Fuchs. Things are going too far. What I see happening next is the removal of the team name “Gators”. After all, the article cited small black children being used as alligator bait correct. Perhaps the symbol of the gator will now cause racist feelings in some people (although it never has in the past). After 30 years of being a season ticket holder, I believe this will be my last. What will be the consequence of fans yelling “gatorbait”or doing the cheer without the band? Will we be removed from the Swamp? Will our season tickets be revoked? Will our first amendment rights be denied? These questions will definitely be answered at the first home game of the season, Does he (or anyone) really think Gator fans will just lay down and comply with a decision that makes no sense whatsoever? In my opinion he made a non-issue into a racial issue.
Will Miles
No business has to allow you access while shouting things that they fundamentally disagree with so it’s not really a first ammendment issue. I suspect people will yell it out just as they yell out the “move back, you suck” chant as well and everybody will just move on. And yes, you are perfectly within your rights to vote with your dollars as well.
woody
you know you say businesses can do what they want but it just ain’t true. tell that to the pizza shop owners run out of business because they won’t cater a gay wedding. tell that to the Christian cake maker who is fined for refusing to make a cake that upsets her morals. you see, businesses do not get to do what they want. at least not in America.
Tyler
The biggest issue here is that there was no fan or player involvement in the decision. It came out of nowhere.
The worst twist of irony is that Fuchs single-handedly turned a cheer meant to instill a sense of unity of the Gator Nation into something racially divisive. A single man took something beloved and beautiful and has twisted it into something disgusting.
And for what reason? The gross misuse of transitive property? Saying that people referring to black children as alligator bait 150 years ago is the same as the modern Gator Bait cheer is no different than somebody saying Hitler drank water, you drink water, therefore you support Nazism when you drink water.
I will still proudly shout Gator Bait. Not because my intent is to be racist or racially insensitive, but rather to keep alive a tradition that president Fuchs was too cowardly to defend, despite his admission that it is not, in any way, connected to racism. My only hope is that my fellow Gators understand this when they hear me or any other Orange and Blue clad fan use it.
After all, I’ve been told that in all kinds of weather, we’ll all stick together.
Will Miles
It’s matters of degrees isn’t it? If the intent of displaying the Confederate flag isn’t racist, does that make it okay? If the intent of yelling ‘Gator Bait’ isn’t racist, does that make it okay? Your transitive property is an interesting analogy and you are clearly upset at how far we’ve gone down this road, but I’d pose the question to you why this is too far and my Confederate flag example is not? What is the defining principle about what should and should not be banned and/or considered racist?
I’d like to have that conversation with people. I think it would make us all better.
Frank Pulliam
Hi Will,
I believe the difference here is that there is direct logical correlation and widespread public perception around the Confederate flag.
There was (per the President’s own admission) absolutely no correlation or association with our cheer and that horrible imagery.
If President Fuchs consulted with the black community over this, and there was even remotely a hint of racist association, I would completely understand. There is no indication this occurred.
I personally believe President Fuchs owes the UF community an apology for wrongly connecting the Gator Bait cheer with awful and completely unrelated racist imagery (Alligator Bait). What he did has caused far more division, and it unfairly and unnecessarily embarrassed the entire UF community.
Furthermore, this meaningless change overshadowed the rest of the very impactful positive changes that are occurring within the declaration.
To top it off, we’ve lost a tradition that actually united people of all colors within Gator Nation.
(I wrote this to him on Twitter, just expressing on this medium as part of the conversation)
woody
you’re comparing apples to oranges. they are people upset at certain flags, maybe it’s ridiculous, but people are. there was no one upset with gator bait. it was popularized by a black athlete. if it doesn’t offend black athletes, who does it offend? some old white guy who lives in an ivory tower that never comes to a game because it will dirty his suit? this caused division. for no reason. Gator Nation was strong and united. until you and the UF president decided to divide us.
Jennifer Lester
Thank you for your thoughtful and sensitive handling of this issue. I, too, had no idea where that term came from. Now that I do, I don’t want to hear it again. We have many great traditions as Gators, and we’ll be just fine without one that has such a horrible history.
Kristopher
Every where you look organizations and companies are making some statement or action intended to show they are against racism (especially towards the black community) so I think this was Fuchs’ “statement”. Institutions who are not making these statements are coming under attack. I think it’s an over reaction and am more concerned about where this is all heading and how far it will go than I am about losing a beloved chant. I am a minority and have not faced a lot of racism in my lifetime but the few times I have, it’s been from someone from the black community. There will continue to be a divide and all this craziness will continue until everyone stands up and accepts 100% responsibility for there part in this problem, whites, blacks and other colors alike. Everyone needs a little self reflection to see if they’ve added to the problem whether showing acts of hate and racism or allowing it by keeping silent. We all need to hold ourselves accountable for 100% of what we’ve contributed, even if it’s only a small amount.
Ron L Rourk
I believe that the “Work Em Silly” sign has been around since I was in school in the early’80’s. The more important point is where does it stop. Should we change the town name where the University stands?
Gainesville is named for General Edmund Gaines. Look at his record regarding Native Americans, Spanish settlers any especially Blacks.
It is called Prospect Bluff Historical Sight now, but it was originally Fort Gadsden aka Negro Fort. One should never be able to go back and re-write history. One can only learn from it.
One person is trying to re-write history by saying Gator Bait might be an offensive term (I haven’t seen any modern day examples) and yet the city name where the University resides could be one of the most offensive names in history.
Michael Wood
I go to the games, watch college football, to get away from politics. This and NASCAR were the last two sports not affected by all this hate the USA and destroy history. If Gator bait is racist, then being a Gator is racist because Gators eat the Gator bait. This will never stop unless we make a stand. Now. Tomorrow is too late. Maybe this will derail a 2020 championship. Maybe I’ll just not care. I guess I’m just going to spend my weekends camping now. I know losing one fan doesn’t mean anything. But I will not bow my knee to anyone but Jesus.
Doug
How could YOU believe that Lawrence Wright created that phrase? Do you also think that UF football began in the early 90’s when Steve Spurrier arrived? You should know better.
Back in the ’50’s and 60’s, and probably even longer ago, the ENTIRE crowd at Florida Field would say, in unison, GATOR BAIT, after each name as the opposing team was introduced. It was EXTREMELY cool and Lawrence Wright’s parents weren’t even born yet! Furthermore, there weren’t ANY black players on the opposing teams at that time, which is another story altogether, but this has NOTHING to do with racism and it DID NOT start with Lawrence Wright. I’m sure that he would concur.
Bruce Langston
I agree, Will, with what I think your main point is. We need to remember or relearn how to have conversations to understand each other… or just to demonstrate genuine interest in understanding.
R MacLaren
I certainly have never heard the phrase in the context of feeding children to alligators. But, knowing that it was so used, I never want to hear it at something as fun as a football game, and will certainly do not want to say it, ever again. I originally saw the issue brought up in one of my friend’s Facebook feeds. He is both a Gator and African-American. If we have the chance to take our kids to a game, hearing that cheer would be infuriating to me and wounding to him. We may not have known that history before, but we do now – and we cannot “un-know” it. Fuchs was right to excise it from everyone’s gameday experience. I hope that they do enforce the policy with ejections, and if people have that big of a problem with responding to new information, they can do what others did when acceptance letters were sent out: take it to FSU.
Michael Wood
I know you think this is about Gator Bait. It is not. They will never be satisfied with this. It will always be just one thing more then everyone will be satisfied. But it will never end. Lest you doubt me, remember it was Confederate Statues, then it was US Grant – the leader of the Union Army, then it was Columbus, then it was Gandhi, then it was abolitionists, then it was black soldiers in WWII, then it was an Emancipation statue paid entirely by freed blacks, erected by freed blacks, consecrated by perhaps the most famous former slave Fredrick Douglas, and still these are not enough, now it’s all the white Jesus’s, but even that wasn’t enough, the spay painted BLM on the Polish BLACK Madonna and Child. So don’t think that we’ll just eliminate Gator Bait. Next it will be We are the Boys, then it will be Two Bits, then it will be taking Griffin off the stadium, then it will be removing Spurrier’s name, then it will be taking down Wuerffel and Tebow, it will never end. Because once you cave on one issue, the next one is easier to cave, and the next, until soon it will be BLM field. I know you doubt me. Think back on the statues. They had to protect the George Washington statue, Teddy Roosevelt is already down, Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln will come down. Who here has the guts to stand up for tradition. Obviously not the President who divided the Gator Nation where there was not division. You either stand up for tradition, or we’re finally living in 1984, just took us 36 years to get there.