Denial is at the root of racism.
Riots are the language of the unheard.
With those themes in mind, I've been pondering Cal Poly's response to several past high-profile incidents of racism on campus and, more recently, the ongoing civil unrest nationwide. I know President Armstrong's administration is investing in diversity and inclusion programs but I wonder if that's enough. I tend to doubt that administrators have also sufficiently disinfected the racist attitudes that prompted their investment because just two days ago I randomly discovered evidence that it is ongoing.
A reddit post led me to the “Cal Poly Sports Forum,” which offers “In-depth discussion of Cal Poly Athletic Teams, Cal Poly Football, Cal Poly Baseball, Cal Poly Basketball, Mustang Athletics, Facilities, Recruiting, Cal Poly Athletic Schedules and Cal Poly Opponents,” according to its banner.
Ostensibly, the forum is an online gathering spot where prominent alumni, boosters and fans gather to share their passion for Mustang sports. However, a quick experiment convinced me that the Poly people posting on that board aren't as passionate about athletics as they are opposed to diversity. First thing I did upon visiting the site was search for the keyword “diversity” in posts. Boom! There were eight pages of postings to choose from, each filled with anti-minority rants, reverse-discrimination accusations and ethnic-cleansing conspiracies. I followed up that discovery by doing a search for “recruiting,” which would figure to be among the most common terms used on a college sports forum. The search produced only four pages. We all have priorities, I guess.
OK, they're not there for the sports, but who are they? Listen, and they'll tell you.
The apparent leader uses the name “Stangbacker” and boasts in one post that 30 years ago, he helped found an organization “to generate interest and raise money for Cal Poly Athletics.” One former athlete at the university remembered him breaking off from a different Mustang sports forum in a huff amid bullying accusations.
Stangbacker appeared not much happier on the current board when he used it to vent his anger at the San Luis Obispo Tribune when it reported on January 25, 2019, that Cal Poly had partnered with a “nationally-recognized diversity expert” as part of an effort to make campus more inclusive.
“When I see things like this, I am so glad I called my attorney and had Cal Poly removed from my estate plan,” Stangbacker responded. “To all those who post on this board, five to athletics or the university at large, I'd encourage you to do the same.”
In a separate complaint about President Armstrong and Athletic Director Don Oberhelman, Stangbacker declared, “Truthfully, I go out of my way not to wear anything with a Cal Poly brand. I'm totally embarrassed to be associated with a university that has so much potential for greatness if not for the school's senior leadership. How in the world did these people get their jobs and how are they able to keep them?
“Again, the only thing these clowns understand is money. Therefore DON'T donate because when you do, Armstrong and Obe gather with other like-minded thinkers and say to each other, 'look at the donations pouring in... this validates people are behind us.'”
Stangbacker continued: “And let's not forget Armstrong's famous message to the entire Cal Poly Community when he said in his letter, 'We've made great progress but our work continues... our student body is now under 55% Caucasian versus the 63% when I arrived.
“Can anybody imagine how that message would be received if the word Caucasian was substituted with Hispanic, African American or even LGBTQ? The uproar would be deafening.
“And then after insulting people of Northern European heritage, Armstrong has the balls to launch a major giving campaign asking the very same people to contribute.
“There's a lunatic running the asylum!!”
Posting under his rumored secondary handle, "Stang870," Stangbacker repeats his warning to resist President Armstrong's diversity efforts through his checkbook, threatening he will "Absolutely keep it in mind (when) the annual donation appeal arrives in the mail."
Stangbacker's critique of Cal Poly's president included the following assessment: “Jeff Armstrong is doing a bang-up job 'making great progress' reducing the number of white students at the university.”
Another board member, “MightyMustang,” supported Stangbacker's rhetoric. “What none of the Armstrong team realize is 'Q' stands for QUALITY... not QUOTAS!!!” he noted. “Just another reason to never give Cal Poly any financial contributions.
“What Armstrong and his team are doing with the consultants, certain faculty and guest speakers they hire is telling the Cal Poly community you're all bigots and racists and we're here to teach you how to get your minds right.
“Cal Poly has ALWAYS been (an) open and accepting environment,” MightyMustang maintained. “One only needs to review the school's history in the 1950s to see that.”
Members on the board recently learned that Jalen Hamler, who started all 11 games at quarterback as a redshirt freshman for Cal Poly's football team in 2019, has helped lead recent BLM protests in San Luis Obispo and they did not handle the news well. “What (the player) and his fellow protestors (sic) should be focused on is the horrific black on black (sic) homicides taking place in the U.S.,” was Stangbacker's take. “Since 2017, more than twice the number of white citizens have been shot and killed in altercations with police,” he claims, “That's why all lives matter!”
“Troublemaker!!!” is the how board member “Peter1,” a reputed athletic department donor, labeled Hamler. “(He) needs to find another school and a different occupation,” Peter1 offered. “We have already seen for the last 30 days what the BLM cause has done to our cities. I am sorry (the player's) so called cause (sic) has no place in San Luis Obispo or Cal Poly.”
Peter1 made his stance clear in a previous post. “End diversity at Cal Poly and in the USA! Pretty sure Armstrong realizes his 'Diversity & Inclusion' dept. is unconstitutional and why spending the $Millions is reprehensible.” In yet another post, he notes, “Despite what he has published/said about diversity & inclusion at the university... that he is not in anyway (sic) in violation of the law. Suing Jeff Armstrong & his administration has definite merit.”
Peter1 also has a history of calling out Cal Poly's hiring of minority coaches. He went out of his way to target the school's men's basketball coach last month after Cal Poly made the regrettable hiring of Paulette Granberry Russell as Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion. Russell rescinded her appointment amid controversy centered on her ties to Michigan State University doctor Larry Nassar, who abused more than 250 women and girls over the course of 20 years at the school. There was Peter1 to find the hiring “Similar to the hiring of a black (sic) men's basketball coach to replace coach Callero.”
Previously, he posted, “Want to mention a head coach that was hired between 1995-1997 by the name of Karen Booker. She is an African American that was hired as Cal Poly's WBB head coach and was fired after going 9-46. She found an attorney (African American(?)) and sued the university... Poly settled out of court. Just something to keep in mind when hiring a minority.”
Hamler did have a lone defender in the person of “CPalum,” who unpopularly observed, “I think the young man looks like he has the guts to stand up for a cause. I find that a good quality.”
Two other recent incidents involving African-American Cal Poly student-athletes have prompted angry responses in the Mustang sports forum. On June 4, 2020, Jaylen Shead, a basketball player who transferred to Texas State University in 2017 after two years at Cal Poly, posted a string of tweets accusing the head coaches at both schools of racist behavior. His comments about former Mustangs coach Joe Callero offended board members.
“Knowing Jeffrey Armstrong has likely been alerted to this situation, and knowing Armstrong's propensity to overreact, hopefully he'll read this before ordering the entire school to go to special sessions for racial sensitivity,” Stangbacker posted.
“Jaylen Shead was either misguided or miss advised to twit those comments about coach Callero. It's time to twit his apologies to same,” Peter1 suggested in calling for a “retraction” of the story.
“I would assume a person who is a bonafide racist is very careful not to be caught saying anything even remotely construe as racists. (i.e. a white coach),” Peter1 reasoned.
In mid-July 2020, the Cal Poly's men's basketball team lost its leading returning scorer and rebounder when Junior Ballard announced he was transferring after two years as a Mustang.
Ballard has offered no reason for his departure, but Peter1 was quick to speculate in a separate forum for sports fans at Big West Conference schools. “Really think Cal Poly will be better without him in the long run!” Peter1 offered. “My instinct tells me he had some team chemistry issues. Just a hunch.”
A not-so-frequent poster on the board, “ES2X,” has been the subject of discussion on Reddit, where users in the Cal Poly community expressed annoyance that he was using the alias "CalPolyFan" to scalp tickets to Mustang games and peddle conspiracy theories that were mocked in an episode of Vice and banned on social-media platforms.
“The bizarro world agenda to 'increase diversity' at Cal Poly continues sadly...” ES2X opines. “Traditionally (last two years) it appears that 'increasing diversity' was a code word for reducing white people (or at least that's what the president of the college Mr. Armstrong said). Anyway, making the entire ethnic cleansing fiasco even more confusing around Sloville is this article released in the Tribune today entitled 'Cal Poly is Trying to increase diversity. Yet it's allowing Chick fil-A to stay on campus?'
ES2X's struggle to understand diversity is evident elsewhere. “Apparently, 'diversity also includes sexual preferences now. Not sure where this thing is headed,” he admits. “I guess if I'm into some fetish where I dress up like a giant teddy bear I'm not being diverse?”
Bottom line: Through their online presence merely within the realm of athletics, these guys represent the culture of California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and they feel empowered enough to share their attitudes in a place where prospective minority athletes, their parents and advisers won't feel comfortable. They won't accept responsibility for the discomfort so I guess their support of Mustang teams isn't what binds them.
Sports used to provide an escape from the world. Now they are a window into it.
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