Texas Football Coaches Suspended After Sexist Presentation

Texas A&M has been trying to make football more accessible to the young women attending the university, so on July 27, the school hosted the 2016 Chalk Talk, an already insulting-sounding event that is designed to teach women the details of the game.

“This is great opportunity whether you’re a casual observer of the game or you’re calling plays from the stands at Kyle Field,“ Aggie head coach Kevin Sumlin wrote, prior to the event. “There will be something for all knowledge levels.”

The presentation, which was led by assistant coaches Jim Turner and Jeff Banks, included a series of slides that many women in the audience were very upset by.

The first slide, shared on Facebook by assistant professor Tonia Dousay, which offered alternate lyrics to the school fight song, titled “Aggie War Hymn,” made references to putting down the dishtowels and Lysol to walk in a victory parade.

She wrote: “It’s 2016. I just shared an awesome picture book this morning about women pioneers in science. We have the first female presidential nominee from a major political party (politics and my personal feelings about her aside). Not a week ago, Texas A&M University was named one of the top 50 universities for women. Yet, Texas A&M Athletics decides that this is cute and worthy of broadcasting at last night’s Chalk Talk. One step forward and two steps back. I’m so disappointed. I’m not sad. I’m angry.”

It didn’t get any better after that. Turner and Banks shared a series of “coaching” tips, which contained a variety of sexually suggestive material. Texas Longhorns beat writer Anwar Richardson tweeted out images from a slideshow of the “instructional” material.

Discussing blocking, Turner and Banks made a number sexual references, including “get erect,” “bang him hard,” “spread your legs” and “no penetration.”

Sumlin announced that both assistant coaches will be suspended without pay for two weeks effective immediately and will serve 20 hours of community service. He offered the following statement, according to the Washington Post:

“There is absolutely no place in our program or in our university community for inappropriate conduct or degrading comments towards women, or anyone, regardless of intent.”

“On behalf of Aggie Football, I want to apologize for the comments at Chalk Talk and also for my failure to review their individual presentations. I want to thank the almost 700 women who came out this week who not only participated in the program but who supported a worthy cause in the Twin City Mission.”

The disgraced assistant coaches, Turner and Banks, also weighed in with a statement of their own:

“We want to sincerely apologize to the passionate Aggie fans and to women everywhere for our failed attempt at humor during this week’s Aggie Football Chalk Talk and fundraiser. We clearly understand now that our comments and slides were not appropriate or consistent with the values of our football program or our department. We must do better, and we will.”

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.