Who is Chris Weiland? UCLA sacks runner over racist, homophobic rant as girlfriend leaves him for Black man
UCLA suspended student-athlete Chris Weiland after screengrabs and video allegedly showing him using the N-word and homophobic slur surfaced on the internet. The cross country runner reportedly used inappropriate terms on a phone conversation with a woman while talking about his former girlfriend who cheated on him with a Black man. Director of Track & Field/Cross Country, Avery Anderson, said in a statement that he had dismissed Weiland from the team months ago over the alleged incident, but reinstated him in January.
According to Los Angeles Times, the incident took place before Weiland enrolled at UCLA in the fall of 2019. In the video verified by the publication, Weiland says while talking about his girlfriend leaving him for someone else, “When she said she didn't want to get back together, why do you think? It's cause she wants to be with this fucking f***** who has no future. She's going to be with a stupid ***** who's going to be in community college his whole life. He probably lives in the fucking ghetto.”
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The reports further suggest that he can be seen wearing a UCLA sweatshirt in the video.
What did Weiland say in his text messages?
On Monday, February 22, an Instagram account by the handle @ucla_is_racist shared screengrabs of Weiland’s alleged messages to a woman, in which he’s accusing her of sleeping with a Black man. The messages read, “You really cuffed (sic) a FUCKING BUM ASS ***** WITH NOTHING GOING FOR HIM," read the text message. "A BROKE ASS STUPID ASS *****. You have no standards who cares. shit.” The account has been since taken down, but the pictures of Weiland’s alleged conversation have been widely circulated on social media.
@ucla_is_racist also claimed in one caption, "this racist behavior was brought to coaches and the athletic director months ago. Chris Weiland is still on the team.” Not much is known about Weiland and Daily Mail reported that he most recently ran at an event on Saturday in Tucson, Arizona.
Weiland suspended for the ‘well-being of team’
After Weiand’s alleged racist behavior was brought to light, Anderson issued a statement on Twitter stating the student-athlete was being suspended. He wrote, “Even in my disgust, as a coach, my intentions are always to lead and educate and make the change happen that I want to see in this world. I can talk about changing the world, or I can put in the work to do so. And that is what I have done over the last few months with this individual. I now realize that the decision to reinstate him was not the right decision and that the action today is best for the well-being of our team."
Statement from Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Avery Anderson. pic.twitter.com/mt9wNW9NIl
— UCLA Cross Country (@UCLAXC) February 23, 2021
