USC football player creates 'racist' Facebook group

An inside joke on the USC football team went awry when a Facebook group sparked outrage among students. The racist Facebook group was created by a USC football player and showed a graphic of a black baby in handcuffs. An athletic department source said the group was a joke and had no serious purpose. Junior linebacker Clay Matthews created the group, "White Nation," which featured a graphic with the caption, "arrest black babies before they become criminals."

Teammates David Buehler, Brian Cushing, Dan Deckas and Dallas Sartz joined the group. "This group is not for the faint of heart," read the group's description. "All members are athletes of Caucasion (sic) descent. DISCLAIMER: In no way are the following memebers (sic) intolerant of others, we are just doing our duty of protecting the Arian (sic) brotherhood."

An athletic department source who wished to remain anonymous said the group was a joke and had no serious purpose. The "joke" began when a black football player nicknamed some of his teammates "White Nation," the source said.

Stefanie Gopaul, a freshman majoring in psychology, discovered the group through her Facebook friendship with Sartz and Cushing and sent private messages to both, expressing her concern. "Dallas Sartz said that White Nation is a joke on the team and that he's not like that," Gopaul said. "I was still really upset about it." Gopaul created the Facebook group, " Clay Matthews (USC football player) expresses anti-black sentiment," and invited all of her Facebook friends to join.

The group received a strong response, at one time having as many as 90 members, and students expressed their outrage on the group message board and in personal messages to Gopaul. Full article here.