SAE Racist Frat Chant Controversy: OU Chapter Might Sue University of Oklahoma, President David Boren
In the wake of the racist-chant controversy involving the University of Oklahoma chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity -- which resulted in the expulsion of two students -- the former members of the chapter are thinking of suing the university and possibly its president, David Boren, the Washington Post reported. The former members have retained high-profile attorney Stephen Jones, best known for representing Timothy McVeigh, who was executed for his role in the 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City.
On March 9, a video went viral that showed a busload of SAE fraternity brothers singing a chant with racial slurs and references to lynching blacks. The substance of the chant was that SAE would never admit blacks into its fraternity. SAE national headquarters condemned the video, and Boren immediately shut down the chapter and expelled two students -- freshman Parker Rice and sophomore Levi Pettit -- who were shown singing the chant. Rice later issued a public apology, as did the parents of Pettit.
Attorney Jones told KTUL-TV that the plaintiffs may take legal action against Boren because he disbanded the entire chapter and allegedly implied that every member was racist. It would not be the first time Jones took on Boren, NBC News reported: Jones once ran unsuccessfully for a U.S. Senate seat against Boren.
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