Michigan Football: Rashan Gary Got a Racist Voice Mail From Supposed Clemson Fan
Michigan football defensive tackle Rashan Gary, the top-ranked player in the 2016 recruiting class, apparently got a racist voice mail from a Clemson fan.
Just one day before he took his official visit to Clemson, top-ranked recruit Rashan Gary was the target of a racist voice mail that was sent to his high school’s athletic department by a supposed Tigers fan.
Related Story: Friday recruiting roundup
Gary chose the Michigan football program over Clemson a week later.
Darren Cooper of NorthJersey.com reports that the voice mail was left on Dec. 28. Here’s what the caller had to say:
"Yes, this here is ‘Clemson Dan,’ and this message is for Mr. Rashan Gary. We just wantin’ to know if you’re coming down here for a visit, you better be serious about it, ’cause there’s only two things we love and that’s Clemson football and the KKK.So you better not be fooling around, if you’re gonna get a visit, you better be committin’.So, just be aware, this ain’t no fooling thing. We Clemson. We big-time football down here.We don’t take no losers, no stragglers, no lazies, no dumb people…so if you’re coming down here, you gotta do just like the KKK and be serious about your football.So if you’re coming down here, you better be serious. All right Rashan Gary, you better be the real deal. Over and out, this is ‘Clemson Dan’ saying goodbye."
The Paramus Police Department is conducting an investigation into the message and has issued search warrants to the phone company to find the number used to make the call, which didn’t appear on Paramus Catholic’s caller ID.
MORE: Why John O’Korn will be the starting quarterback
Jennifer Coney, Gary’s mother, doesn’t think the call came from a true Clemson fan.
“They wouldn’t have done that, being that we’re black people from the North. Why would you say that I’m ‘Clemson Dan’ and say something about threatening from the Ku Klux Klan and we’re serious down here?” Coney said. “I would think that there was somebody who didn’t want Rashan to consider Clemson.”
Learning who “Clemson Dan” is may never be a reality. Was he truly a Tigers fan, or was he perhaps a fan of a rival school trying to ensure Gary wouldn’t choose Clemson? While the identity of this person may be important to law enforcement, the lesson for the public doesn’t change no matter who was behind the message.
The length to which some people are willing to go when it comes to these kids who are sometimes just 17 and 18 years old is incredibly disturbing.
Before Gary rose to glory, it was Jabrill Peppers who got all the attention at Paramus Catholic. According to school president Jim Vail, Peppers received death threats and had security to watch over him before and after games.
As the stakes in college football keep rising, so too will the expectations of the fans. And that apparently means the bar for appropriateness will also be on the rise.
Next: What if Brady Hoke wasn't fired?
Cooper tried reaching out to Gary for comment but was unsuccessful.