Penn State T-shirts support Sutherland after letter about dreadlocks
Several Penn State players warmed up in "Chains, Tattoos, Dreads, & WE ARE" T-shirts on Saturday after an alum implored safety Jonathan Sutherland to cut off his dreadlocks.
PSU CB Lamont Wade warming up in a t-shirt that reads: Chains, tattoos, dreads & WE ARE pic.twitter.com/bLzY1C84Kj
— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) October 12, 2019
The alum, Dave Peterson, wrote a letter to Sutherland that called dreadlocks "disgusting" and "certainly not attractive." Peterson added in the message that he stopped watching the NFL "due to the disgusting tattoos, awful hair, and immature antics in the end zone."
Sutherland shared the letter, which the university condemned as a "message of intolerance," on Tuesday. Penn State coach James Franklin quickly came to his aid, calling him one of the most respected players on the team and the "ultimate example" for others in the program.
Peterson said his letter wasn't intended to be racially insensitive, but that he "would just like to see the coaches get the guys cleaned up and not looking like Florida State and Miami guys."
Here in Iowa City where several @PennStateFball players warning up in t-shirts saying, “chains, tattoos, dreads, & WE ARE” in support of their brother Jonathan Sutherland in response to the horrible letter written and addressed to his name this past week pic.twitter.com/xrhkLIeRa9
— Michelle McMahon (@Meesh_McMahon) October 12, 2019
The Penn State equipment staff eventually took the shirts away while the players were still on the field for warmup.
"While we are supportive of our students expressing themselves in a thoughtful manner, they are expected to wear team-issued apparel on game day," the school said in a statement, via Greg Pickel of Penn Live. "We asked our students to remove the shirts out of an abundance of caution for NCAA compliance."
The Nittany Lions were gearing up to face Iowa at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City.