A significant number of Ole Miss football players will be required to complete a sort of sensitivity service after inappropriate behavior at a university theater performance.
According to Hugh Kellenberger, Ole Miss beat reporter for Jackson Clarion-Ledger, reports via Twitter every player in attendance for a performance of “The Laramie Project” will be required to take part in a session on “educational dialogue” at Ole Miss. The school’s athletic department is still in the process of getting more information related to the incident originally reported by The Daily Mississippian, the student newspaper at Ole Miss. According to the original report, an estimated 20 football players were among those shouting homophobic slurs and insults at actors Tuesday night during the performance of a play based on a gay male murdered in Laramie, Wyoming.
Attending the play was part of a class requirement and the disturbance caused the school’s athletic director to arrive during the performance. The players issued an apology to the actors after the performance.
“The football players were asked by the athletics department to apologize to the cast,” Ole Miss Theatre Department Chair Rene Pulliam said. “However, I’m not sure the players truly understood what they were apologizing for.”
Ole Miss plays at Auburn this weekend. There is no word on any potential suspensions or further action to be taken by head coach Hugh Freeze.