As colleges around the country have started to rename or remove landmarks named after racist figures, South Carolina football alumni have joined the cause.
On Wednesday, former Gamecock football players took aim at the Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center, named after former South Carolina governor and senator Strom Thurmond. Thurmond was a well-known, longtime supporter of segregation, once quoted as saying: "There’s not enough troops in the Army to force the Southern people to break down segregation," then using a racial slur.
Former football players Alshon Jeffery, Marcus Lattimore and Mike Davis all took to Twitter to announce their support for changing the name of the Thurmond Center, posting identical messages:
Last week, Clemson renamed its honors college from Calhoun Honors College to the Clemson University Honors College after Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins both publicly called for changing the name via a petition.