Leaked Snapchat of College Lacrosse Team Singing the N-Word is a ‘Teachable Moment,’ Coach Says
By Ryan General
A widely shared footage of the Virginia Tech women’s lacrosse team chanting the N-word in the song “Freaky Friday” by Lil Dicky has sparked controversy online.
Coach John Sung has issued a public apology in behalf of his team, calling the incident, “a teachable moment.” In an interview with The Roanoke Times, Sung said, “It’s not something that we’re proud of. The team is very apologetic and sorry.”
The controversial clip, which was recorded after the team’s victory over Elon University was initially posted on Snapchat and spread widely on Twitter. According to Deadspin, the player who originally uploaded the video on Snapchat tried to ask the person who shared the video on Twitter to take it down.
Sung, who is Korean American, said he had already met with the team to discuss the incident.
“They’ve got to be educated to make better decisions,” Sung explained. “They’ve got to know what’s socially acceptable, and I think they’re learning all those things. It’s a lot on me as the leader. People forget — I’m a minority.”
“We are engaged in conversations with the campus community to share our sincere apology,” Sung said via a statement. “We have confidence that the team will learn from this mistake and understand that these actions reflect poorly on our program and do not represent the values of our program or the principles of the university.”
While Sung did not confirm whether he will implement any disciplinary action for the players, he noted that they are currently “working through everything.”
“We’ve got to start to fix stuff first. We are … as remorseful as we possibly can be.”
Incidentally, the song “Freaky Friday” itself has earned criticisms for its offensive music video that plays into insulting Asian stereotypes.
Feature image via (left) Youtube/Patrick Stuart and (right) Twitter/HokiesLax
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