Brittany Mahomes, the wife of NFL star Patrick, has recently refused to back down in her support for Donald Trump and Auburn university men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl is the latest to criticize and scrutinize Kamala Harris.
There are many people of color in this country who take any support of Trump as implying to support any number of offensive and oppressive ideologies that negatively affect women, people of color, especially as it pertains to interaction with police officers.
Mahomes has always been considered to be nothing more than Patrick Mahomes’ wife. Her relevance is totally based on her position as the significant other to the best quarterback in the world.
Brittany — who has become close friends with Taylor Swift since the pop star began dating Travis Kelce last summer — made headlines earlier this month when she reportedly “liked” a social media post from former president Donald Trump. (The post in question reportedly featured a “2024 GOP Platform” graphic that listed ideology such as “keep men out of women’s sports” and “deport pro-Hamas radicals and make our college campuses safe and patriotic.”)
Then she doubled down on it and started arguing with people.
Auburn University’s men’s basketball coach, Bruce Pearl, is the latest to scrutinize Kamala Harris, leading others to warn Black student-athletes about potentially playing for him after a controversial social media post.
It happens every election. Someone who appears to be a level-headed, intelligent individual goes on social media or in front of a camera and is so wrapped up in politics that they risk losing their livelihood or in Pearl’s case, the respect of their team.
For a man of Pearl’s stature – he’s probably considered the greatest hoops coach in Auburn history — it’s just odd that he is such a social media junkie, hellbent on being involved in politics, from his unwavering support of Israel to his recent support of comments that he has to know are seen as offensive to many.
Auburn Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl Bashes Kamala Harris On X
According to NewsOne, Pearl quoted a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, of Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, who shared a screenshot of a 2019 NBC News article about about then Sen. Harris’ support for “Medicare for all” during her 2020 presidential campaign. He said Harris was “extreme” and wanted to kick Americans off the health insurance plans they receive through their jobs. Cotton also criticized undocumented migrants, stating they were also going to receive government plans.
Instead of thinking twice, remembering that he has a job coaching players and gaining their trust, Pearl let it all fly on X, bashing Kamala Harris.
“Thank you for pointing this out Senator Cotton, except my guess is that like many of her socialist, woke progressive beliefs, she’s now changing them or hiding them to get elected! We won’t get fooled again!” Pearl wrote in a post shared on his official X account on Monday.
The now-viral tweet has drawn widespread attention, from supporters of Pearl and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Inevitably, however, the controversy spurred reaction from non-Trumpsters such as veteran journalist Roland Martin, who urged Black student-athletes to take their talents elsewhere.
Roland Martin Encourages Black Basketball Players To Not Go To Auburn: Social Media Reacts
“To all Black ballplayers and their parents considering @AuburnMBB, this is the trash @coachbrucepearl tweets. There are many other SEC schools to consider. Choose accordingly,” Martin tweeted.
Other X users attacked what they felt were “racist” viewpoints by Pearl, noting that there are plenty of coaches with these beliefs who greatly profit off the backs of Black athletes.
“Bruce Pearl is another Tommy Tuberville. The irony that they are both connected to Auburn University says a lot. Unfortunately, the college coaching ranks are full of people just like them. Racist coaches whose livelihoods depend on young black men and women athletes,” one user said.
When Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) was a high-profile football coach at Auburn, he used that platform to insert himself into the political discourse of the day. Tubbs parlayed that into a run at politics and got elected. Sports figures from Steve Largent to Jack Kemp, have used their sports celebrity as a platform into high-level politics. It’s nothing new.
“Bruce Pearl uses the word “woke”…. y’all already know he lets that other word fly behind closed doors….” another wrote.
“Bruce Pearl built his Basketball program and legacy on the backs of Black athletes. Now he publicly backs Trump and MAGA racist policies and agenda that target Black people. Why would any Black parent send their child to play under MAGA Bruce Pearl? Stay away.” a third user advised.
One user called on the SEC commissioner and school officials to call out Pearl.
“Bruce Pearl who is the head coach of Alabama Tweeted out a racist attack against Kamala Harris. I am calling on The SEC Commissioner and the Athlete Director for Alabama to call Bruce Pearl out,” the user tweeted.
Another user commented, “Man has more far right propaganda on his page than tweets about Auburn basketball.”
Naturally, this support of Trump doesn’t sit well with some of the Black players and families of Pearl’s team
Anybody with a half a brain knows that the word “woke” has been hijacked from the Black community and is now used by racists and other right-wing rebel rousers to signify the divide between those who want to move into a new era where people are treated equally and the country corrects its ills of the past and the gatekeepers who don’t want change because oppression, systematic exploitation and privilege has been working for them like a charm and they view any opposition to that system as “woke.”
“Why would any Black parent send their child to play under MAGA Bruce Pearl?,” another X user asked.
Pearl needs to choose his words carefully. Too often, over the past decade, have we seen people lose jobs, lose social standings, get canceled and blow bags over personal feelings about politics, which spill into race and eventually creates a firestorm of conflict that never ends well.
Pearl also has to know that the majority of his team is NOT for Donald Trump. Maybe if he was the baseball coach it would be different. For him to anoint himself a spokesperson for pro-Trump rhetoric is a gaffe on his part. It shows a lack of awareness and respect for his players who may not see the terms he considers offensive as anything but tools for social progress.
Expect more clashes such as this between pro-Trump and pro-Kamala factions in all walks of life.
The Trump Effect is a dangerous one for any person willing to get in bed with his ideologies, shortcomings and the nonsense he often spews when a microphone is in his face. Everyone has the choice to vote for the candidate they choose in this country, and millions will cast a vote for Donny from Queens in this upcoming election. Some will be Black and other non-whites.
Leaders of institutions and influencers of young minds have to be cautious in how they impress and express their personal affiliations in public and how it will affect the youngsters they are hired and positioned to lead. These kinds of emotional and confusing events result in dissention, mistrust and don’t lend themselves to creating a successful team atmosphere.
There are definitely certain words that white people over 60 should stay away from and “woke” is one of them. There’s clearly several different definitions for the word depending what side of the political, economic or racial spectrum you fall on.
Bruce Pearl Should Focus On Coaching Hoops, Building Bonds
Pearl was fired by Tennessee in 2011 amid a controversy of his own making and then slapped with a show-cause penalty by the NCAA.
Related: Bruce Pearl Hired To Extinguish Auburn Basketball’s Dumpster Fire
He couldn’t coach for three years, and a desperate Auburn program gave him a job. Maybe he should reflect on his career a bit and the fact that with all of his success he’s yet to win an NCAA title, put the politics on the back burner and lock in with his team.
In On3 Sports’ Top 25 for college basketball poll, Auburn ranks No. 9 in the preseason. Archrival Alabama is ranked No 1. Beating Alabama, not Kamala Harris should be Pearl’s focus.