USC Athletic Director Mike Bohn has stepped in and banned a booster for “abhorrent and blatantly racist” tweets, which called for the police to use deadly force against those rioting in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd.
The Twitter account, using the handle @SoCalMAB, has since been deleted. However, this weekend the user responded to reports about police movements by saying “they need to be shot” and “shoot the protesters.”
The tweets were captioned by former Trojan Michael Pittman, who appears in the Twitter users profile pic. Pittman asked the user to remove him from the profile picture.
“@SoCalMAB if you truly believe the things you have said, I politely ask you to take me out of your profile picture,” Pittman said. “This is disappointing, I know my true Trojan family would never. In times like this, it is important for us to stand together.”
@SoCalMAB if you truly believe the things you have said, I politely ask you to take me out of your profile picture. This is disappointing, I know my true Trojan family would never. In times like this, it is important for us to stand together. https://t.co/CH5aVAwiTz
— MPJ (@MikePitt_Jr) June 1, 2020
“Following an immediate investigation into the matter, we informed the individual that their season ticket and Trojan Athletic Fund membership privileges have been revoked and their payments will be promptly returned,” Bohn said. “Their account has been flagged in our system to prevent future purchases.
“Thank you to the USC community for helping us identify this individual so that we could move swiftly to terminate our relationship. We stand in solidarity with the Black community.”
The booster apologized for his posts before deleting his account.
“My remarks were made in a fit of anger at circumstances in general,” the booster said according to TMZ Sports. “It was a stupid thing to say. And wasn’t directed at anyone’s race. Just upset at all the destruction.”
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