University of Wisconsin prof: the return of college football is a 'reflection of racism & capitalism'

A professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison recently tweeted a thread asserting that the return of Big Ten college football is a “reflection of racism & capitalism.”

”Let’s talk about how the insistence on returning to college football not only a reflection of racism & capitalism, but also the deep failures of patriarchal culture,” wrote associate gender and women’s studies professor Sami Schalk.

”So football relies heavily on the athletic performance of Black men for the entertainment & profit of predominantly white men. In the NFL when players protest, they’re told to shut up & play or that they make enough money so they shouldn’t care (racist capitalist perspective),” Schalk tweeted.

Schalk also states that the NFL owners and teams give her a “plantation vibe.”

Schalk made the claim that higher education is reliant on sports income in order to stay afloat.

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”The Big 10 return to college football reflects the capitalist failures of higher education bc our large public institutions have become too reliant on sports income to function & therefore make these wild unsafe decisions that risk lives & waste resources to try to stay afloat,” furthered Schalk.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison spent approximately $138 million on its college athletics department in 2018-2019, which is about 4.1 percent of the university’s total expenditures, according to the university’s Budget in Brief. Revenue from auxiliary departments, such as the athletics department, cannot be used outside these departments, according to the document.

”Universities will also have to employ janitorial & service workers to clean up after & feed teams & fans but note Big Ten explicitly said only those ‘on the field’ will be regularly tested. Fuck those other workers right? Capitalist disregard of some lives over others,” furtheredSchalk.

Schalk claims that the culture surrounding football is “racist,” “sexist,” and “harmful.”

”The culture that surrounds football (college & NFL)—a notably specifically American sport—is racist (hi Washington Redskins), sexist, capitalist & harmful. It relies on excessive drinking & heavy consumption of food & goods (tickets, tailgating gear, jerseys, etc.)—purchasing,” according to Sami.

”Football fans often trash cities. Tailgating creates immense waste. Advertisers encourage unhealthy levels of drinking that increases the risk of harm to fans & those around stadiums bc of fights and/or drunk driving. It creates high levels of income/spending but at what cost,” Sami tweeted.

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Sami also takes aim at football fans who are upset without football stating that they should see a therapist.

”If you can’t imagine a version of yourself that is happy without football, perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate your conceptualizations of happiness. Therapy is a good start as are self-help books or podcasts,” Sami tweeted.

Campus Reform reached out to the professor but did not receive a response.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @realBlairNelson