A Black college football player, who had dreams of playing football at his Top pick school, was forced to hang up his jersey because of racists teammates.
As WLS reports, Brook Williams, 18, told ABC7 Chicago he faced not only racial slurs from two of his teammates on the Aurora University football team, but also what he considered threatening comments referencing George Floyd.
“I was so stuck on Aurora and like the picture they painted of the brotherhood,” Williams told WLS.
But the brotherhood he had hoped to experience never happened.
Williams moved to his teammates’ house to save time commuting to and from school. He mentioned that he was the only Black person living in the household, where he quickly became the target of racist harassment.
“One of my teammates had called me the n-word and was like you better not go in my room,” Williams alleged.
He said it escalated from racial slurs to a comment referencing George Floyd. He told ABC7 he took that as a personal threat.
Investigation by the University
Aurora University opened an investigation and interviewed witnesses. The school determined Williams’ report was credible.
The school’s findings say “there was no evidence that [Williams] had any motivation to fabricate the allegations… and it is clear something significant happened.”
The university confirmed that Williams experience a hostile environment by race but could not release names because of federal privacy laws.
Williams remained on the team during the investigation, as did the two accused players. His mother said a coach told players to “be humble” and that the situation would “blow over.”
“For the first time in my life, I felt like I could not protect my child and I’ve never had that feeling before,” Mother Aisha Williams said
Despite the school confirming the hostile environment Williams experienced, they did not say if any action was taken towards the accused students.
Williams made the decision to leave the team and the school, never playing in one game.
“Sometimes at night, just lying in the bed, like, asking myself, am I enough? Like, did I deserve this?,” Williams said.
“These boys, they’re living their American dream while he’s stuck, sad, afraid, hurt, doesn’t know his next move,” William’s mother said.
The family said they are talking with the NAACP.