My e-mail about the "loser" child in Clemson clothes...

Oct 28, 2005, 9:42 AM

Good morning, Mike:

Before I react, I figured I'd ask you (a) if it was true and (2) if you could explain it.

I received an e-mail from a friend who lives in Charlotte who was, shall we say, immensely upset with something he said took place in your show last night. According to him, in some sort of setup closing for the show, you were handing out candy to children for Halloween.

In his words..."Mike looked at each one of them and asked them what they were etc but when the little girl came up in a Clemson outfit the first thing he did was laugh out loud and said "you must be a loser, you have on Clemson clothes."

So, I guess the first question is: Did you really call a 6-year-old child a loser? If so would you care to defend calling a young child a loser in any circumstance?

We Clemson folks are used to good-natured joshing, especially from folks who have to make fun of us to salve the wounds to their pride after we've kicked their butts. Living among the mountains and tractors gives us a thick skin, and we're good enough to dish it out as well as take it.

However, we also have a standing slogan among the Tiger Family: We're Clemson; we're better than that. And we certainly know that taunting a child because of her choice of Halloween costume clearly falls outside the boundaries of excusable decorum.

I note on your Web page that you said "God is where it all starts for me." Do you think the Almighty is especially happy you chose to use a young girl as the basis for a hurtful, cheap laugh? There is not, never has been, nor ever will be an accepted reason for calling a child a loser.

If this isn't what happened, please accept my apologies for bothering you. However, if this is an accurate recounting of your show, it is you that should be apologizing...not for whatever misguided opinion you may have about our school, but for such an unwarranted, pernicious remark to a young fan.

Thanks for your time,

Chick Jacobs