ICYMI: UGA’s Student Newspaper Blasts Herschel Walker, Who “Drags Down” School’s Reputation

“If we elect this man to the United States Senate as a representative of Georgia, he will also represent UGA. The reputation and love this university cultivates are at stake this December in the runoff election.”

In case you missed it, the University of Georgia’s student newspaper, The Red & Black, published an op-ed today blasting Herschel Walker and charging the former football star with “spread[ing] hate by profiting off the family of love and pride that UGA cultivates…” tarnishing “the reputation of this incredible university and flood[ing] a place of higher education with a cloud of misinformation.”

Read the op-ed in full here.

The Red & Black: OPINION: Herschel Walker harms the reputation of UGA, uses fanbase for political gain

• As the Georgia Senate race enters a runoff election, it has become increasingly clear what will appear on the ballot. If Hershel Walker wins, our country inches closer to less rights for the LGBTQ+ community, bodily autonomy for women and mental healthcare for all.

• Walker, the Heisman-winning Georgia football player, uses the University of Georgia as the main selling point of his campaign. Through commercials, fundraising, lawn signs and game day stickers, he tries to appeal to Dawg pride, which unifies some of Georgia together.

• Walker hopes to spread hate by profiting off the family of love and pride that UGA cultivates. By doing so, he drags down the reputation of this incredible university and floods a place of higher education with a cloud of misinformation.

• In order to break this down further and understand the toll that the Walker campaign has had on UGA, think about his recent campaign advertisements. Walker recently released a commercial with NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines following a shooting targeting an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs. The commercial targeted a transgender swimmer who won the title, which Riley Gaines claimed “belonged to a woman.”

• The timing of this commercial was not only inconsiderate but sickening. In a time when the LGBTQ+ community was mourning and many people were fearful for the lives of their loved ones, Walker decided to release this commercial attacking a community in pain. If his campaign is associated with UGA, will we now be viewed as a place of intolerance when we are supposed to be a flagship university of education and understanding? Does it appear as though we are taking a step backward?

• Most importantly, as the class of 2027 prepares for college, how many incredible students will we lose because of what they see from Walker. Will they be fearful that UGA is a place of hate? We must consider how this affects the university, especially during college-application season.

• Walker also has a history of violence. In his 2008 book, “Breaking Free: My Life with Dissociative Identity Disorder,” Walker discusses an urge he once had to kill a man because he wasn’t returning his phone calls. Additionally, he has been accused by his ex-wife of exhibiting extreme physical violence. Is this who we want to represent UGA or the state of Georgia?

• Women must not forget about his hypocritical view on abortion rights. Despite being publicly anti-abortion, Walker allegedly pressured and paid for a woman he was involved with to get an abortion. His hypocrisy proves there is no way of knowing what he believes, making him too dangerous to elect.

• If we elect this man to the United States Senate as a representative of Georgia, he will also represent UGA. The reputation and love this university cultivates are at stake this December in the runoff election. As much as I worry about UGA’s appearance from his campaign, at the end of the day, it is hard to say “sic’ em” when I know he says it too.

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