Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin received a threatening, racist letter in the mail, according to a tweet posted by his wife, Charlene
Texas A&M football coach Kevin Sumlin allegedly received a racist threat in the mail this week following the Aggies’ embarrassing collapse against UCLA on Saturday.
‘You suck as a coach!’ read the letter pictured on Sumlin’s wife Charlene’s Twitter account. ‘You’re a n***** and can’t win! Please get lost! Or else.’
‘People of 2017,’ Charlene wrote in the tweet. ‘[P]lease tell me how any part of this is ok. And to the sender: did it occur to you that a child may open it? #orelseWHAT?’
Sumlin has been under fire since his Aggies blew a 34-point lead on the road against UCLA in the season opener.
Texas A&M President Michael Young and Director of Athletics Scott Woodward responded in a joint statement: ‘Earlier this evening, we became aware of a letter of unknown origin that was sent to the Sumlin family home. We unequivocally condemn this disgusting and threatening letter. There is no excuse for hatred and, as a community, we will not allow the ignorance of some to intimidate any member of our community. On behalf of all Aggies, our thoughts are with Coach Sumlin and his family, and we will do all that we can to ensure their safety. We are working with law enforcement authorities to bring the sender of this letter to justice. We stand with the Sumlins and will not accept this inexcusable act of hate.’
Charlene Sumlin, wife of Kevin, posted the letter on Twitter
Oddly enough, the envelope had a return address belonging to the Houston Country Club in Houston. Calls to the club were not immediately returned.
A Twitter account ostensibly belonging to Shelby Sumlin, a daughter of the coach, responded to Charlene’s post: ‘Imagine being a kid & reading this bs abt your dad. Things ‘fans’ say gets taken personal by more than just the coach. Humanity isn’t hard.’
After coaching at the University of Houston, Sumlin took over the Aggies in 2012, leading a team coming off a 7-6 season to an impressive 11-2 campaign. Texas A&M finished the year as the nation’s fifth-ranked team.
Since then, however, Sumlin’s Aggies have gone just 33-20, and the 53-year-old with an annual salary of $5 million has been under intense scrutiny.
Sumlin’s Texas A&M Aggies (in white) held a 34-point lead late in the third quarter against UCLA in the season opener, but ultimately lost 45-44
Southeaster Conference commissioner Greg Sankey gave his reaction on Twitter, calling the letter ‘sickening’ and adding that he has ‘great admiration for Kevin Sumlin.’
Without addressing Sumlin’s race in any way, university regent Tony Buzbee vented on Facebook about the coach following the loss to UCLA, saying that Sumlin ‘needs to GO.’
‘I’m sure I may be criticized for this post but I honestly don’t care,’ Buzbee wrote. I’ve been on the Board of Regents for the A&M System for almost seven years. During that time, I’ve not once commented on Kevin Sumlin and his performance during his tenure at our school. I never said a word when he and his agent manipulated a much bigger and longer contract. I said nothing about his arrogance and his mishandling of multiple player controversies. I said nothing when we had multiple awesome recruiting classes, only to see key players leave our school or underperform.
Texas A&M University regent Tony Buzbee called for Sumlin’s dismissal after the loss to UCLA
‘But tonight,’ Buzbee continued, ‘I am very disappointed and I have to say this. Kevin Sumlin was out-coached tonight, which isn’t new. He recruits well, but can’t coach the big games, or close the games. Our players were better tonight. Our players were more talented tonight. But our coaches were dominated on national TV, yet again. I’m only one vote on the Board of Regents but when the time comes my vote will be that Kevin Sumlin needs to GO. In my view he should go now. We owe it to our school and our players. We can do better.’
Buzbee ended his message by writing: ‘Share this as you see fit.’