After the now-infamous events of the past week, Sigma Alpha Epsilon at The University of Oklahoma will forever be known as “the racist frat” when the topic of fraternities being awful comes up. It’s just how the public mind works: When a group of frat turds chants a disgusting, racist chant as a group, their actions represent the organization as a whole, not just themselves. OU President David Boren delivered a swift kick of justice to the frat early on Monday morning after the video went viral on Sunday, kicking them off campus and banning them for life. Two members were expelled from the University for their involvement in the chant and have issued public apologies.
Some members of the frat are now lawyering up for a possible lawsuit against the school. Via KFOR:
The group has hired high-profile attorney Stephen Jones to represent them.
Jones told NewsChannel 4 the group is outraged over President Boren shutting down the fraternity house and branding all SAE members as racists and bigots.
Jones says the two students who were expelled because of the incident have apologized sincerely for their remarks, and now the incident is being exploited.
He said they lacked judgment in a social setting, but they should not be tarred and feathered as racists.
Now, the group is looking at all options, as far as litigation.
We are told the decision to hire Jones came after an emergency meeting held by SAE members and alumni.
As Gawker notes, Stephen Jones is the lawyer who infamously represented Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.
No lawsuit has been filed yet. While obviously *not ALL* members of SAE were doing the chant, it’s very clear in this video that more than just two people were. It sure sounds like an entire bus. If three is company, than four frat boys chanting a racist chant almost certainly a big enough sample size to justify that — yes — the entire group is doing it. Getting your organization disbanded most certainly seems like the consequence of members in your fraternity being ignorant, racist idiots.
Then again I’m not a lawyer. Maybe someone who passed the bar can explain the frat’s position for recourse (or lack thereof) in the comments. Don’t just say “FREE SPEECH!” because anyone who knows how fraternity-school charters work knows that doesn’t apply here.
In the meantime, I’ll you be the judge with exhibit A: