Caden Sterns is a former safety for the University of Texas who recently declared for the 2021 NFL draft. Sterns recently took to Twitter to respond to a Texas Tribune article regarding the ongoing controversy of ‘The Eyes of Texas’, the racist alma mater song performed after UT’s athletic competitions. He claims that he and his teammates would be jobless in the lone star state if they did not participate in the post game sing-a-long.
“My teammates and I got threatened by some alumni that we would have to find jobs outside of Texas if we didn’t participate.”
If you’re not familiar with the song, ‘The Eyes of Texas’ is sung to “I’ve Been Working On The Railroad” and is inspired by a saying from Confederate General Robert E. Lee. The song was performed at student minstrel shows, in black face. Yup, definitely racist.
According to the Tribune, Athletic Director Chris Del Conte denied that he heard of any threats of lost job opportunities over the players not remaining on the field.
“We simply asked for their help — no one was forced or required to do so,” he said in a statement.”
But players continue to stand by their statements, especially Demarvion Overshown. In a phone interview with the Tribune, Overshown said.
“They said y’all don’t have to sing it. But y’all have to stay on the field. Y’all have to go over there and at least show fans appreciation for coming out and watching you guys play. He added, “It was really eye-opening. These are some high-power people that come to see you play and they can keep you from getting a job in the state of Texas. It was shocking that they said that. To this day I still think back to the moment. They really used that as a threat to get us to try to do what they wanted us to do.”
The battle between students, players, and fans doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon. Alumni and donors continue to threaten their financial support of the program if the school gets rid of the song, there is currently a student-led petition to do that very thing.
You can find a link to the full Tribune article below and flip the page to see the tweet from Sterns.