Penn State football coach James Franklin read an impassioned statement Tuesday in defense of his team and one of his players who was singled out for criticism of his dreadlocks in a letter from a person describing himself as "a proud 'older' graduate of Penn State."
Franklin opened his weekly media teleconference with the two-minute statement in response to the letter sent to safety and co-captain Jonathan Sutherland. The letter was made public Monday on Twitter by Nittany Lions defensive tackle Antonio Shelton and touched off a firestorm of criticism, particularly by Sutherland's teammates.
Sutherland, a redshirt sophomore from Ottawa, Ont., also put out a statement Tuesday that said that while the letter was "indeed rude, ignorant and judging, I've taken no personal offense to it" and that he forgave the writer.
The Johnstown Tribune-Democrat identified the letter writer as David Petersen, of Johnstown, a 1966 Penn State graduate. Petersen told the newspaper that making a racial statement "was not the intent at all. I would just like to see the coaches get the guys cleaned up and not looking like Florida State and Miami guys."
The photo on the typewritten letter attracted nearly 14,000 retweets and more than 46,000 likes as of Tuesday afternoon. In it, Petersen lamented the loss of "the clean-cut young men and women" from "my days," and then went on to criticize Sutherland's hair.
"We couldn't help but notice your _ well _ awful hair," the letter read. "Surely there must be mirrors in the locker room! Don't you have parents or a girlfriend who have told you those shoulder-length dreadlocks disgusting (sic) and are certainly not attractive?"
The letter went on to criticize "disgusting tattoos, awful hair and immature antics in the end zone."
In tweeting the letter, Shelton commented: "Explain to me how this isn't racist."
Sutherland put out a statement on Twitter in which he called "degrading" the opinion of Petersen "in regards to my hair and what it stands for."
But, he added, "At the end of the day, without an apology needed, I forgive this individual because I'm nowhere close to being perfect and I expect God to forgive me for all the wrongs I've done in my life."
He said the letter was "one of the many examples to us that in the year 2019, people of different cultures, religions and ethnicities are still being discriminated against, and it needs to stop. Don't be scared to be different."
