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Hawkeye coach Chris Doyle's racist behaviour exposed by former players, as calls for his sacking grow louder

'Black players have been treated unfairly for far too long,' said former Hawkeye center James Daniels
UPDATED JUN 6, 2020
Chris Doyle (Getty Images)
Chris Doyle (Getty Images)

After former Hawkeye center – and current Chicago Bears offensive lineman – James Daniels shared on Twitter the racial disparities he has suffered in the Iowa football team, a slew of other players also opened up about their own experiences, most of them singling out Hawkeye football strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle. The expose of Doyle's racial bias has now resulted in social media users calling for the coach to be fired from the football team.

Daniels took to Twitter this Friday, June 5, to share: “There are too many racial disparities in the Iowa football program. Black players have been treated unfairly for far too long.” Amongst those who chimed in with similar experiences, Toren Young, a former Hawkeye running back, also shared: “If you are a black player you quickly learn to conform to white culture (when in the building) at Iowa and if you don’t. You won’t make it very long”. 

The most shocking anecdote was shared by former Iowa player Emmanuel Rugamba, who recalled incidents where Doyle allegedly threatened players to 'put (them) back in the streets', and another where Doyle pulled down his pants to mock a player for spending the night at his girlfriend's house. Rugamba replied under Daniels' tweet that at the young age of 18-21, watching this behavior made him walk around the campus on 'eggshells'. And while he claimed his earnest hopes of not sounding 'spiteful', almost the entirety of Twitter showed him massive supports, calling for Doyle's immediate sacking. 

Doyle joined Iowa’s football program in 1999 and as of last year, his reported $800,000 salary makes him the country's highest-paid strength and conditioning coach in college football. Probably why the reactions on social media resonated with shock and disappointment, along with evident rage. "Never thought I would say this but ... F*ck Chris Doyle and the entire Iowa training staff," shared a disgruntled user on Twitter. Another opined: "Alright. Enough has been shared. Chris Doyle needs to be fired," before adding, "You need to fire Chris Doyle @HawkeyeFootball. There are now countless testimonials of unabashed racism. We can do better." A third user also noted: "After some close discussion with friends, I’d be very very surprised if Chris Doyle was employed tomorrow." 

There were also those that spoke up in Doyle's defense, as a user claimed: "It would be nice to live in a world where people wait and hear both sides of a story. Not saying Chris Doyle was right but no need to rush to judgment immediately. Hear both sides and then decide. Take a breath, people. Sad how people really seem to enjoy tearing people down." Another simply placed an ultimatum about those calling for Doyle's immediate firing, tweeting: "I'm blocking people calling me racist for giving Chris Doyle the benefit of the doubt. If you want to have a legitimate conversation and actually listen to what I'm saying, I'm all for that."

The head football coach of the University of Iowa, Kirk Ferentz, also responded to the slew of exposes from former players, tweeting a statement through the football club's official Twitter account. “I am saddened to hear these comments from some of our former players,” Ferentz statement read, continuing: “While I wish they had reached out to us directly, I am thankful that these players decided to share their experiences now. As I said earlier this week, the best way to affect change is by listening. I have started reached out to them on an individual basis to hear their stories first hand.” He concluded: “Making change that matters involves an open dialogue and possible some tough conversations. I am glad to have the opportunity to do just that. As a staff and as leaders, we will listen and take to heart the messages we hear.”

While the coffin on Doyle losing his job is yet to be nailed, critics flooded Twitter, calling out both Doyle, and Ferentz for this current stance. "After 20 years of helping so many young black men become college graduates, millionaires, and husbands/fathers — it turns out Kirk Ferentz and Chris Doyle were the sequel to Get Out the whole time. The purge is going well!" The quip refers to Jordan Peele's Oscar-winning debut feature horror that saw a colony of white people employs African Americans under the pretext of using their racially advanced genes to benefit their own. Sign of the times, eh?

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