Left-wing media publications were quick to smear a group of Army and Navy cadets on Saturday as the two service academies squared off on the gridiron in what is an intense football rivalry, accusing a group of them of flashing “white power” signs.
USA Today’s Mike Brehm reported:
Questions erupted during the Army-Navy game in Philadelphia when students appeared to make the White Power hand symbol during a pregame broadcast.
Spokespersons from the U.S. Military Academy and the U.S. Naval Academy told USA TODAY Sports they have been made aware of the issue – which blossomed on social media as the game wore on – and the schools are looking into it.
Far-left activists posted close-up videos of television screens showing what they claimed was the cadets flashing the white power sign.
As an American,
As a Navy Dad,
As a decent human being……you hate to see racist West Point cadets emboldened by the presence of the Racist-inChief at an #ArmyNavyGame to throw up the "White Power" sign on national TV.
Disgusting. https://t.co/4LbB5Veoa7
— BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) December 14, 2019
Others urged their followers to make the photos and videos go viral on Twitter, which quickly happened as “#WhitePower” and “West Point” began trending nationally on the left-wing tech platform.
So many white people on here are calling me the N word, and other awful things.
I am a strong black Muslim woman. Nothing can bring me down. I will always speak up against racism. 😊 https://t.co/WOAXZU3x8Z
— Hamdia Ahmed (@hamdia_ahmed) December 15, 2019
There was strong pushback against the smear attempts, with many noting that the cadets were playing the “circle game.”
Former senior White House adviser Cliff Sims wrote: “Here we go again. This time it’s @ByMikeBrehm of @usatodaysports trying to ruin the lives of cadets for playing the circle game, because in some alternate reality they just MUST be white supremacists. At some point someone’s gotta bring a defamation case against these lunatics.”
https://twitter.com/Cliff_Sims/status/1206043044736311298
Popular sports analyst Clay Travis tweeted: “Good lord. They were playing the circle game. America has gone insane.”
Good lord. They were playing the circle game. America has gone insane. pic.twitter.com/jixG99ftmX
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) December 15, 2019
Curt Schilling wrote: “This is just idiotic. It’s a bunch of guys playing the circle game about 10 years after their friends all stopped. But ya, let’s make it out to be racist, since everything else you see and hear is as well.”
This is just idiotic. It's a bunch of guys playing the circle game about 10 years after their friends all stopped. But ya, let's make it out to be racist, since everything else you see and hear is as well https://t.co/0tcDjTZeDg
— Curt Schilling (@gehrig38) December 15, 2019
Others, like left-wing activist Christine Teigen tried to suggest that the hand gesture was spurred on by Trump administration officials and were ultimately mocked.
“Let’s pretend for a second these people really are doing the white power/white nationalism hand gesture,” Teigen tweeted. “What does it even do for anyone? Do you get points for each time it’s seen like? Is there a boss out there keeping score? Or is it like paging someone?”
They scored plenty of points too if that’s the criteria pic.twitter.com/yfpLlBHCST
— Cabot Phillips (@cabot_phillips) December 14, 2019
Austen Fletcher responded to Teigen by writing on Twitter: “Exactly. It does/means nothing. It’s not a real thing. You figured it out.”
Exactly. It does/means nothing. It’s not a real thing. You figured it out. https://t.co/wbWsW0CMCt
— Fleccas 🇺🇸 (@fleccas) December 15, 2019
Attorney Kurt Schlichter issued a warning to the media, writing on Twitter: “This is a warning to the media… If you Convington the cadets, you will be held accountable in court in front of a jury and not in your comfortable, sympathetic blue enclave venue. Do not participate in the defamation of these American heroes.”
This is a warning to the media…
If you Convington the cadets, you will be held accountable in court in front of a jury and not in your comfortable, sympathetic blue enclave venue.
Do not participate in the defamation of these American heroes.@RonColeman @pnjaban @Barnes_Law
— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) December 15, 2019
And cadet libeled by the garbage media in Covington 2: OK Sign Boogaloo needs to contact:@RonColeman @pnjaban @Barnes_Law
or another attorney who can fully vindicate a defamed plaintiff's rights.
— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) December 15, 2019
Many people on social media were quick to point out the double standard that the media and far-left activists were using to smear the cadets by highlighting politicians on the political Left who use the same hand gesture, like socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who posts photos of herself using the gesture on her verified social media accounts:
https://www.instagram.com/p/inE7khShXs/?igshid=1s741do0vrrwr
This is a developing news story; refresh the page for updates.
