Cardinals LB Isaiah Simmons saw a terrible post on Twitter back in his hometown and had to voice his opinion. A picture posted on Twitter showing two Olathe South High School students in Kansas holding up a very racist and messed up a sign that read:
“If I was Black I would be picking cotton but I’m white so I’m picking you for HOCO.”
Simmons, who grew up in Olathe, where he became an All-American linebacker and was then recruited by Clemson and now plays for the Arizona Cardinals, shared a post of the picture on Twitter where he got to share his disgust with it.
“This is disgusting. Sad that people think this is funny or acceptable,” he wrote. “Very disappointing and honestly just sad to see this kind of stuff happening in my hometown. I hope this is handled in the correct manner.”
University of Kansas Student Body President Niya McAdoo, an alumnus of Olathe South, shared on Twitter that she was not surprised to see this.
“I graduated from Olathe South – they tried to tell me and another Black girl we couldn’t wear our headwraps bc it was ‘district policy’ and after we fact-checked the other Olathe schools and threatened to go to the news we got an apology the next day. Not surprised.”
Local news stations KSHB obtained a letter sent out to all of the families in the district and was made aware the post was offensive and circling around social media.
“I felt it was important to share that we are working to thoroughly investigate the situation and contact all parties involved, including student guardians,” Olathe South Principal Dale Longenecker wrote. “At Olathe South and in the Olathe Public Schools, we are committed to creating an inclusive and safe environment for ALL our students.
“The type of behavior displayed in the social media post does not meet the expectations of our core values. Any behavior like this will be immediately addressed in accordance with our Student Code of Conduct.”
The mom of the girl in the picture defended her daughter by implicating the situation wasn’t all that big of a deal because a black kid was the one that made the sign.
One Caucasian and one African-American boy were involved. It was the African-American boy who actually made the sign, already marked up and took the picture,” Windholz said. “This by no means makes it right but should shed some light on the situation.
Caught up in the excitement of being asked to her first ever homecoming, our daughter held the sign that was given to her. It was only after actually comprehending the situation, that she realized what was happening. She blatantly said no!! By then, it was too late.
Please know that we have diversity in our own family and believe that all lives matter. We have received many death threats and numerous people have told our daughter to kill herself.
Flip the page to see the tweet from Simmons.