There are Halloween costumes that some consider to be in poor taste…
… such as when Hillary Duff and her boyfriend dress as a Pilgrim and a Native American.
And then there is THIS.
At the University of Wisconsin versus University of Nebrasks football game on Saturday night, two idiots were in attendance.
One was dressed up for Halloween in a Donald Trump mask. The other wore a Hillary Clinton mask on one side of his head and a Barack Obama mask on the other side of his head.
The man in the Trump mask was walking around with a noose around the neck of his friend.
Hilarious, right?!?
Either that… or completely inappropriate, frightening, dangerous and racist.
You can’t make it out in the picture above or the video below, but the person in the Clinton and Obama masks is carrying a sign that says “WHAT DIFFERENCE AT THIS POINT DOES IT MAKE?”
It APPEARS the men were first asked to removed the Obama mask then asked to leave. This was their exit… pic.twitter.com/Xv1UxMOfaW
— 😏 (@woahohkatie) October 30, 2016
In response to this horrible incident, officials at Wisconsin released a statement that reads as follows:
During the first half of this evening’s Wisconsin football game against Nebraska, UW officials were made aware that an individual in the seating bowl had donned a highly insensitive and offensive costume.
UW Athletics’ guest services staff were dispatched to the individual’s seating area where they asked him to remove the offensive components of the costume. He complied.
(We can see the cries of “FREEDOM OF SPEECH” being left in our Comments section already, so let us prevent you from sounding like a moron:
Freedom of Speech means you cannot be put in jail for your views. That is all it guarantees. The First Amendment has nothing to do with violating the terms of the agreement on the back of a ticket you purchased that outlines proper fan behavior.)
Continues the University’s statement:
UW Athletics’ policy regarding admission into the stadium with a costume stipulates that no one may be wearing a mask upon entering the facility. Once inside, it is permissible to wear a mask. The costume, while repugnant AND COUNTER TO THE VALUES OF THE UNIVERSITY AND ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT, was an exercise of the individual’s right to free speech.
The university also exercised its rights by asking the individual to remove the offensive parts of the costume.
UW-Madison is dedicated to promoting a campus environment where all people feel valued, safe and able to thrive.
To that end, the university continues to encourage all of our community members to engage in discussion over vital issues in ways that promote greater understanding and respect for all persons.
Go ahead and leave a comment in defense of these fans’ personal freedoms if you wish.
But perhaps consider just who you are defending before you do.