Dave Petersen is standing by the letter he wrote to Penn State safety Jonathan Sutherland, in which he criticized his dreadlocks.
“I would just like to see the coaches get the guys cleaned up and not looking like Florida State and Miami guys," Petersen told the Tribune-Democrat. He said he didn’t intend for his letter to have racist undertones.
“It wasn’t threatening or anything," Petersen explained. "I was just disgruntled about some of the hairdos that we’re seeing."
"You think of Penn State as a bunch of clean-cut guys," Petersen added. "And you do see so many who are clean cut. But the tattoos and the hair—there are a lot of guys with hair coming down their backs and it just looks awful. And it’s the same for the NFL and NBA, too.”
Penn State tweeted about the letter on Monday evening.
Penn State defensive lineman Antonio Shelton posted a screenshot of the letter that an unnamed teammate received from an alumnus following the Nittany Lions' game against Pittsburgh last month.
The letter, which was signed by someone named Dave Petersen, criticizes the Penn State player’s "awful hair," calling his shoulder-length dreadlocks "disgusting" and "certainly not attractive." Petersen, who refers to himself and his wife as "proud 'older' graduates," went on to ask if this person has a girlfriend or parents who could've made him aware of how he looked.
After admittedly pining for "the clean cut young men and women" from years past earlier in the letter, Petersen expresses a desire to "welcome the reappearance of dress codes for athletes" since these players are representing Penn State alumni like himself.
Petersen delivers a backhanded compliment by implying that this person will one day make it to the NFL, but that remark was overshadowed by the confession that he no longer watches those games because their expression of individuality doesn't align with his own personal beliefs.
Fellow Nittany Lions player C.J. Holmes issued a response on Twitter condemning Petersen's "extremely inappropriate" letter.
“I would just like to see the coaches get the guys cleaned up and not looking like Florida State and Miami guys," Petersen told the Tribune-Democrat. He said he didn’t intend for his letter to have racist undertones.
“It wasn’t threatening or anything," Petersen explained. "I was just disgruntled about some of the hairdos that we’re seeing."
"You think of Penn State as a bunch of clean-cut guys," Petersen added. "And you do see so many who are clean cut. But the tattoos and the hair—there are a lot of guys with hair coming down their backs and it just looks awful. And it’s the same for the NFL and NBA, too.”
Penn State tweeted about the letter on Monday evening.
Penn State defensive lineman Antonio Shelton posted a screenshot of the letter that an unnamed teammate received from an alumnus following the Nittany Lions' game against Pittsburgh last month.
The letter, which was signed by someone named Dave Petersen, criticizes the Penn State player’s "awful hair," calling his shoulder-length dreadlocks "disgusting" and "certainly not attractive." Petersen, who refers to himself and his wife as "proud 'older' graduates," went on to ask if this person has a girlfriend or parents who could've made him aware of how he looked.
After admittedly pining for "the clean cut young men and women" from years past earlier in the letter, Petersen expresses a desire to "welcome the reappearance of dress codes for athletes" since these players are representing Penn State alumni like himself.
Petersen delivers a backhanded compliment by implying that this person will one day make it to the NFL, but that remark was overshadowed by the confession that he no longer watches those games because their expression of individuality doesn't align with his own personal beliefs.
Fellow Nittany Lions player C.J. Holmes issued a response on Twitter condemning Petersen's "extremely inappropriate" letter.
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