U. Alabama dean resigns after tweets tying American flag, police to racism resurface
A newly appointed dean at the University of Alabama caught national attention on Thursday when controversial tweets surfaced, including one expressing disdain for the American flag and police.
Just one day later, the university confirmed that the dean had resigned “by mutual agreement.”
The assistant vice president and dean of students at the University of Alabama resigned Thursday after several of his old tweets expressing anti-American sentiments surfaced.
After Breitbart News published several of Jamie Riley’s controversial tweets in a Wednesday article, the university confirmed that the dean had “resigned his position” with the university “by mutual agreement.”
The tweets in question were from 2017, more than a year before Riley began his short seven months as dean. The tweets express disdain for the American flag, American law enforcement officers, and the opinions of “white people” regarding racism in society.
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“The [American] flag represents a systemic history of racism for my people. Police are a part of that system. Is it that hard to see the correlation?” one of Riley’s old tweets read.
”I’m baffled about how the 1st thing white people say is, ‘That’s not racist!’ when they can’t even experience racism? You have 0 opinion!” another old tweet read.
In yet another tweet from 2016, Riley questioned the motives of those who make movies about slavery, suggesting that such films might be produced “to remind Black people of our place in society,” rather than “educating the unaware.”
But many who took issue with the content of Riley’s tweets have argued that his resignation is counter-productive, including conservative commentator and talk show host Ben Shapiro who spoke out against the university’s response in a tweet Friday morning.
RELATED: Gonzaga denies Ben Shapiro speaking request. Shapiro denies their rejection.]
“I disagree with this person’s tweets. He shouldn’t lose his job,” Shapiro wrote. “Also, those on the Left who are livid he lost his job should take a look in the mirror about the world they’ve built, and in which both sides will now play by their ugly rules.”
Washington Examiner deputy editor Jay Caruso concurred with Shapiro’s statements, adding that Riley’s resignation was the product of “the kind of culture promulgated by the left for years,” which was “bound to spark equally egregious nonsense from the right under the guise of playing by those same rules.”
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