A video of a Wisconsin Badgers basketball fan performing a racial gesture went viral on Tuesday, and the individual has been banned from purchasing tickets for Wisconsin athletic events moving forward.
During the Badgers game against the Northwestern Wildcats on Tuesday, a man was caught on video making what appeared to be an anti-Asian gesture to mock the Northwestern student section. The fan was seen showing the student section the middle finger before making the gesture. He was escorted from the arena by police as the student section applauded.
Just saw this video on TikTok of this incredibly racist Wisconsin fan going at the Northwestern student fans.
Glad to see a Northwestern employee and a police office force him to leave. Do better people. Don’t be like this guy. pic.twitter.com/5noQ7XPqh9
— Xavier Sanchez (@Xavier_Sanchez4) January 19, 2022
In a statement, which did not name the individual accused of making the insensitive gesture, Wisconsin Director of Athletics Chris McIntosh and Chancellor Rebecca Blank condemned the man’s “racist behavior.”
“We are reaching out today to condemn the offensive anti-Asian gestures made by a man in Badgers apparel at Tuesday’s men’s basketball game at Northwestern University and to share the actions being taken,” the statement said.
“We also want to acknowledge that hateful behavior like this still happens far too often, on and off campus – towards members of our Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi American community as well as other marginalized communities.” the statement continued. “It inflicts pain and fear and causes students, staff and faculty to feel unwelcome and unsafe. Most of the time it is not captured on video and the perpetrators are not identified. In this case, we are grateful to the fans that documented and shared this incident.”
The University sent out a tweet applauding the actions by Northwestern to remove him from the arena.
“We join with [Wisconsin Badgers] and all [Badgers] in condemning the abhorrent anti-Asian actions of an attendee at the Northwestern game this week. We applaud NU for removing him,” the school said on Twitter. “He is no longer welcome at UW Athletics events – we are barring him from buying tickets on our platform.”
We join with @UWBadgers and all #Badgers in condemning the abhorrent anti-Asian actions of an attendee at the Northwestern game this week. We applaud NU for removing him.
He is no longer welcome at UW Athletics events – we are barring him from buying tickets on our platform.
— UW–Madison (@UWMadison) January 20, 2022
The fan will be unable to purchase tickets through the UW platform in the future.
“We are notifying him that he is no longer welcome at any future UW Athletics event and are prohibiting him from purchasing tickets through our platform.,” the statement continued.
“We remain committed to supporting the individuals and communities that are harmed by this behavior and ensuring they know they belong and are valued,” they added. “We will take all appropriate actions under university policies in response to incidents like this. We encourage anyone witnessing or experiencing an incident to report it. Being a Badger means speaking out and supporting our fellow Badgers.”
The eighth-ranked Badgers won the game 82-76. The win moved Wisconsin to 15-2 on the season, and they’ll play No. 14 Michigan State on Friday night.
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Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].