Penn State football coach James Franklin went to bat for Jonathan Sutherland after a letter about his hair went viral.
A fan sent Sutherland a letter about his dreads and about how they should be cut. A tweet of the letter currently has north of 16,000 RTs.
One of my teammates got this. Explain to me how this isn’t racist. pic.twitter.com/Qms1F6DEEP
— Antonio Shelton (@_groovy55) October 7, 2019
— Jonathan Sutherland (@jay_suth) October 8, 2019
Franklin addressed the media Tuesday about the letter, and spoke about how Sutherland is a shining example of what it means to be a Penn State guy. He ended by saying he’d be “blessed” if his daughters ended up marrying a man with the “integrity” of Sutherland. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
Watch his full comments below.
“The football that I know and love brings people together, and embraces differences.”@coachjfranklin opened his weekly @PennStateFball press conference by addressing the letter Jonathan Sutherland received from a fan. pic.twitter.com/s66OHazwut
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 8, 2019
Good for Franklin for stepping up for one of his guys. Writing a letter to a player about how he needs to cut his dreads is insanely embarrassing for the individual who sent it.
What an absolute idiotic thing to do. Imagine being so bitter and angry about a guy’s hairstyle, which is one often seen in football, that you write a letter telling him to cut it.
That’s not what being a fan is all about. That’s not what being a fan is about at all.
If you don’t like a guy’s hairstyle, then that’s on you. It’s not on the player or the program he plays for. That’s a you problem.
It’s not a Penn State football problem. Franklin 100% did the correct thing by talking to the media and pouring praise on Sutherland.
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While I don’t cheer for PSU, I hope Sutherland has himself one hell of a great year. There’s nothing better than killing somebody with kindness and success.
I think I can speak for college football fans everywhere when I say the vast majority of fans find the letter Sutherland got to be a disgrace to the sport.