>> And yes, by the way, they are trying to take away our history and our heritage, you see that.
>> There are glaring similarities- >> You can't change history, but you can
learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson, who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!
>> Between the former president's good old days rhetoric-
>> The Eyes of Texas has ties to minstrel shows, and it does include that quote from Robert E Lee.
>> And UT's Eyes of Texas. >> You would think,
they'd want to make our country great again. And I honestly believe they don't.
>> These are approaches to keeping the institutions of white supremacy.
>> During the Civil War, the flag was the official symbol of the Confederate States,
but more than a century and a half later, it represents rebellion and, for many, racism.
>> From symbols like the Confederacy sprinkled throughout our country to this day-
>> And General Robert E Lee, in what's called the National Statuary Hall Collection.
Meanwhile, there are only four black Americans, including Martin Luther King
Jr. and Rosa Parks, represented by busts and statues in the entire Capitol Complex.
>> American politics, specifically the Capitol building in DC, simply has none.
Nor has the University of Texas, Austin and that's where former longhorn QB and
well paid NFL backup, Colt McCoy comes into the fray.
Per the Texas Tribune, McCoy was among a group of connected UT Austin donors who organized an
effort last June to pressure university leaders to keep the alma mater song. If you missed our
piece from a few weeks ago, the title of this hateful song was taken from a favorite saying
of a former school president who had mimicked remarks by Confederate General Robert E Lee.
The song was routinely performed by musicians in blackface at minstrel shows. A professor at the
school even wrote a piece concluding his findings, the line 'The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You" was
inspired by a statement about General Lee in the Civil War. The Eyes of Texas song copied not only
the melody but the form and some of the words, phrases, and rhymes, of the racist Levee Song.
General Lee, was thought to have said, the eyes of the South are upon you. The
claim that lyrics such as, you cannot get away at night or early in the morn,
were nostalgic references to slavery. And the belief that the tune itself, lifted from
The Levee Song, better known as I've Been Working on the Railroad, constituted a racist trope.
The professor continues, the song was written specifically to be performed
at an event in which White UT students would mock Black persons,
which runs directly counter to UT pres Jay Hartzell's intentional fugazi commission
and report and blah, blah, blah, where he and his staff concluded, well, it just wasn't raised.
And still, even with all this intel, Colt McCoy was like, yep, we gotta have it.
The Texas Tribune uncovered roughly 300 emails in support of the song remaining.
These are their messages. It's time for you to put the foot down
and make it perfectly clear that the heritage of Texas will not be lost.
It is sad that it is offending the blacks. As I said before
the blacks are free and it's time for them to move to another
state where everything is in their favor. >> Typical white, conservative male that's
stuck in his own little world and don't give a damn about anything that doesn't impact him.
>> This is FS1's Shannon Sharpe. >> Are you surprised to see sports
in general becoming this political? >> Yeah, and I think both sides,
for the most part, want to see it just remain about the sport, not about politics.
>> An NFL Hall of Famer demanding we separate politics and sports, Brett Favre.
>> You would think Brett Favre, born and raised in Kiln, Mississippi. Does any place in America
have any more racist history than Mississippi? >> Mm-mm.
>> But Brett Favre is unaware. >> I know when I turn on a game,
I wanna watch the game. I wanna watch players play.
>> So basically what he's saying is- >> Shut up and dribble.
>> Or following his white supremacist in chief's orders on kneeling black NFL
players who think racism is a problem. >> You see what they've done, Skip,
if it's an issue, they've made it political. Damn politics, right and wrong.
Politics aside, it ain't about politics, it's about right and wrong.
And this what I'm starting to see. He didn't criticize JJ Watt when he raised that money for
Hurricane Harvey. He didn't say a damn thing. >> I believe this is what we call a checkmate.
>> I'm the furthest thing from a racist, I think I'm a pretty good guy.
>> Then why why do you support certified racists, Brett?
Why would you go out of your way to endorse a man that heaps praise from Neo Nazis,
David Duke, and fans of white supremacy. >> What we're starting to see America
is that if it doesn't impact white America, white Americans don't give a damn about it.
As long as it doesn't affect them,
politics, politics, politics. >> Sharpe is just that precise,
on point, accurate. Brett Favre, who made a name for himself as an NFL quarterback,
cannot stop talking politics. He even has the show before Fox News host Eric Bolling,
the literal mixture of a political commentator and sports.
Bowling is known to TYT viewers- >> I will give you the microphone.
>> He keeps taking the mic away
because he knows I have answers to his question. >> For getting castrated by Ana Kasparian.