The Oklahoma Sooner football team had a strong presence in the storm of response to the scandal that hit the SAE fraternity on its campus.
The racially charged video, which featured offensive language and comments about black people, prompted coach Bob Stoops to attend a school unity demonstration, while the program as a whole issued a lengthy, strong statement.
That public presentation came only after a very turbulent period that, according to center Ty Darlington, almost divided the team into two emotionally charged camps.
"It almost tore us apart," said Darlington to Fox Sports' Stewart Mandel. "We had the longest couple days of our life. A lot of screaming and yelling, some near physical altercations."
Meanwhile, Stoops cancelled some spring practices to allow the players time to address the matter personally. Players held a series of meetings and found themselves divided: some wanted to take a collective stand against Sigma Alpha Epsilon and the video, while others wanted to focus on football and leave the social issue alone.
News reports last month revealed that the racist chant, which was carried on by a large group of fraternity members filling us a charter bus, was learned at an SAE national leadership event several years ago.
The team's ultimate stance in protest of the video, and in unity with other members of the university, came only after the football program's members nearly turned against one another.
Now, the issue appears to be put in the past, and the team is back to football, and focused on improving after last year's disappointing 8-5 season.
