Jon Stewart once said that “if comedy is tragedy plus time, I need more f*cking time.” You can apply those words to many different unfortunate comedy bits, but in order to be considered funny, I’m not sure enough time will ever pass for what these two men from Boaz, Alabama did. They find themselves in hot water over racist t-shirts they wore during a youth cheerleading practice, and later claimed that they were only joking.
It was a normal day at practice for the Boaz youth cheerleaders until the team’s assistant vice president Brian McCracken and his friend Brian McDowell showed up wearing shirts that said “The original boys in the hood” with a picture of a burning cross and a KKK member and another that said “White Pride.”
Volunteer coach Kayleigh Tipton complained to the league’s commissioner, Kenny Jones, who “took care of the situation” by informing McCracken and McDowell that they were no longer allowed to wear that type of shirt to any upcoming cheerleading functions.
I like to refer to that as the, “C’mon, you guys. Try to knock it off,” punishment.
Tipton later implied that due to her complaint to the commissioner, she later received retaliation from the organization, indicating that the next time she showed up to practice, Vice President for Boaz Cheer Melynnda McCracken asked her not to return. “I’m just disgusted because I feel like I didn’t do anything wrong besides make a complaint that should have been kept private to begin with,” Tipton said. “I asked why and [Melynnda] could not give me any reason.”
For his part, Jones denied that Tipton was asked not to return because of the t-shirt situation, saying that some parents had some concerns about some drama that was going on, and they had to do their due diligence.
Brian and Melynnda McCracken have since both resigned from their positions within the organization. But McCracken and McDowell added that they wore the t-shirts only as a joke.
White power and the Ku Klux Klan. Get it?
(via WAFF)
