Texas State will investigate basketball coach for alleged racist comments

Texas State men's basketball coach Danny Kaspar is under fire for allegedly using frequent racist remarks toward his team, and he's now under investigation by the university.

Bobcats athletic director Larry Teis announced Friday that the school will be investigating the matter and Teis says he's very upset about the multiple incidents that allegedly occurred.

“I personally find these allegations deeply troubling,” Teis said in a statement, according to the Austin American-Statesman. “I, and the entire Department of Athletics staff, take the concerns expressed by our former student-athletes very seriously.”

Former point guard Jaylen Shead, who transferred to Washington State for his final season, made a statement on Twitter calling out Kaspar for using demeaning stereotypes and degrading statements toward players on the team. While Shead has not made any claims like this against Kaspar in the past, he admitted this week's protests following the death of George Floyd made him want to speak up.

Shead, a starter at Texas State in 2018-19, claims that Kaspar would tell black players to "chase that bucket of chicken" to push them to run faster during drills, told black players if they didn't reach a 2.2 GPA they'd be working at Popeyes, told an international player he'd have him deported for not playing well and he would try to motivate players to run faster by telling them a "brown man with a turban and AK-47" has entered the gym.

Alex Peacock, one of Shead's former teammates at Texas State, backed up Shead's claims and told ESPN that players didn't speak up in fear of losing their scholarships.

Kaspar, 65, has been a men's basketball coach since 1991 and became the head coach at Texas State in 2013.