In basketball, it’s two ‘T’s,’ not one

In basketball, two ‘T’s’ and you’re ejected. For Josh Tucker, it was just one.\nDuring the IU-Wisconsin basketball game last week, Tucker, a 31-year-old life-long Hoosier fan from Louisville decided to make a statement. So he made a T-shirt.\nIt read: “Bring Back Bobby.”\nEarly in the game, ushers ordered Tucker to remove the shirt, deeming it offensive.\nCan someone please explain this to me?\nI didn’t think so.\nSo when Tucker put the shirt back on, ushers came back and threatened to arrest him. He finally obliged, solely because of his desire to see the end of a great game.\nBut Tucker’s shirt brings up a huge problem. It is the usher’s responsibility to remove any articles of clothing or any signs that are deemed derogatory or offensive. But what is offensive? The rules the ushers are supposed to enforce are wholly arbitrary.\nDon’t get me wrong, I completely agree with the rule as long as it’s consistently monitored. This year, another offensive-shirt incident occurred at Texas Tech, the university from which Bobby recently retired.\nDuring the Michael Vick saga, Texas Tech banned the sale of a shirt which featured an image of the dog mascot of in-state rival Texas A&M in a noose. On the back, the shirt read “Vick ‘Em.”\nVick is my dawg, but even I think that a shirt insinuating the hanging of a pit bull may be a little offensive.\nBut “Bring Back Bobby?”\nWho in their right mind would find this offensive? The shirt didn’t even read “Our Knight in shining armor” on the back. The shirt wasn’t even the best sign or shirt I’ve seen since the Kelvin Sampson allegations were brought to light.\nNot only is it absurd that someone found this offensive, but forcing Tucker to take off the shirt is a huge violation of First Amendment right. The 1969 Supreme Court decision in Tinker v. Des Moines ruled symbolic protests in public forums are protected by the First Amendment, as long as they don’t incite immediate conflict.\nI don’t think anyone rushed to argue with Tucker, so his speech should be protected. And he knows it.\n“When any university or other institution of higher learning tries to basically squash someone’s freedom of speech because they don’t like the message being said, what kind of message does that send out to the student body?” Tucker asked. “That’s what this nation is founded upon: the right to say what you want to say.”\nI could not agree more that Tucker had every right to wear his shirt. And he has every right to wear his new shirt, which he is currently selling for $20, that reads “Bring Back Integrity” on the front and “Bring Back Coach Knight” on the back.\nDuring that game, the ushers who demanded Tucker remove his shirt lost sight of a major part of higher education: integrity. \nIt is my hope that the University will take action. I hope the administration will do the right thing and bring integrity back to a stadium and program that was built on tradition and class. \nMultiple calls to the IU Athletic Department for comment were not returned, but it seems as if the department has taken small steps in the right direction. At Tuesday’s game against Purdue, multiple ushers informed me that “Bring Back Bobby” shirts were completely acceptable and by no means offensive.\nI’m glad to see the ushers have learned from prior mistakes, but they are two games too late.\nBecause Tucker isn’t done. He has talked to multiple lawyers and is looking at his legal options. \nHe doesn’t want money. In fact he is donating all the profits of his shirt sales to the V Foundation, an organization that supports cancer research.\nInstead, Tucker wants IU to do exactly what his new shirt proclaims – “Bring Back Integrity.”