Hey Vanderbilt: It's Easy to Think of a Motto That Doesn't Invoke Rape

By Joanna Rothkopf  |  August 6, 2015 | 8:00pm
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Vanderbilt University’s football team has been in PR crisis mode after two of its former players were found guilty of aggravated rape and aggravated sexual battery, a crime that the players blamed on a “college culture of binge drinking.” So, when the team tweeted out its new motto for this season, it was especially dumb.

I am honestly confused how brands fuck up so consistently and terribly. It is harder to think of a motto that is so blatantly offensive and rape-y like “We don’t need your permission!” than it is to think of one that is just sporty and fun.

Here are a few they could have opted for:

  • We are the best at football!
  • Cheer loudly because we are your friends!
  • Watch our college’s Southern gentleman run up and down the field!
  • We <3 tradition!
  • We are used to winning at things and like it!
  • Go, go, go!
  • We train hard and are more physically fit than other teams!
  • Violence is for the football field, not the bedroom!
  • College is for consensual experimentation!

Shortly after posting the motto and receiving swift internet vitriol, the team took it down and issued an apology:

Oh, by the way, those convicted players were later released due to a mistrial. Their next trial has been scheduled for November 30.

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