TCU football coach Gary Patterson apologized Tuesday for repeating a racial slur, which prompted several players to skip practice Monday.
Patterson repeated the N-word to Horned Frogs linebacker Dylan Jordan during a conversation on Sunday when he was instructing the redshirt freshman to stop using the word in team meetings.
“I met with our Seniors and Leadership Council last night about how we move forward as team, together,” Patterson said in a statement on Twitter. “We are committed as individuals and as a program to fighting racial injustice of any kind.
“I apologize for the use of a word that, in any context, is unacceptable. I have always encouraged our players to do better and be better and I must live by the same standards. Our players, past and present have always been the strength of our program. These men are and will always be my motivation and driving force.”
University chancellor Victor Boschini wrote in an email to TCU’s student media that Patterson was not directing the slur against any player or group of players.
“He said it trying to ask the players not to use it anymore,” Boschini wrote. “He has since apologized for doing so in this manner and said it was a teachable moment for him and many others.”
Patterson, 60, is the winningest coach in TCU history with a 172-70 record since taking over the program in 2000. He has an 11-6 record in bowl games with the Frogs.
(Field Level Media)
