The University of Central Florida has apologized for a joke that unintentionally invoked the memory of the Kent State shooting that occurred during protests against the Vietnam War in 1970.
Central Florida was in the midst of a 56-6 thrashing of Kent State on Saturday when the UCF social media team posted a picture of their quarterback John Rhys Plumlee on the telephone with a caption that read, “SOMEONE CALL THE NATIONAL GUARD.”
The intent of the post was to hearken back to Shannon Sharpe’s famous 1996 sideline moment when he took a phone and told whoever was on the other end that the president and National Guard needed to be called because they were “killing the Patriots.” However, given that Kent State was the scene of an incident in 1970 when National Guard troops opened fire on a group of protesters killing four and injuring nine, the reference hit differently.
The original post no longer exists but this screenshot does.
Only took one night of college football for some social media person to get fired pic.twitter.com/H7jsITbCoW
— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) September 1, 2023
“An unfortunate post was made with the intention to reference the famous Shannon Sharpe sideline clip of him on the phone from a 1996 game against the New England Patriots,” the school said in a statement.
“As soon as our staff was made aware of the unintended reference to the unfortunate event that took place at Kent State in 1970, the post was removed. It was addressed with our staff immediately, and updated protocols have been put in place to avoid a situation like this in the future.”
UCF Knights quarterback John Rhys Plumlee (10) makes a pass attempt during the game between the Kent State Golden Flashes and the UCF Knights on Thursday, August 31, 2023, at FBC Mortgage Stadium, Orlando Fla. (Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
UCF Athletic Director Terry Mohajir also apologized to Kent State’s Athletic Director Randale L. Richmond.