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Rice & Pettit (Parker & Levi)

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Racist

The Resume

    Former students at University of Oklahoma
    Frat brothers; formerly of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity
    Parker Rice, then 19-year old freshman originally from Dallas, Texas
    Levi Pettit, also from Dallas; then 20-year old Sophomore
    Caught on video leading a racist chant, repeatedly dropping the expletive, 'Nigger,' during a bus ride to an SAE event (Mar. 7, 2015)
    Footage of the two delivering the chant went viral on social media; resulting in the University chapter of SAE being shut down for inappropriate and exclusionary conduct
    Expelled by the University president for their leadership role in the chant (Mar. 10, 2015)

Why they might be annoying:

    They inadvertently gave Black Lives Matter another chance to inject themselves into a media narrative.
    They came from elite, upper class backgrounds.
    At least one of them, Parker Rice, attended an exclusive, upscale prep school.
    They sang 'There will never be a nigger SAE' to the tune of 'If You're Happy and You Know It.'
    They made reference to the history of blacks being lynched by singing 'you can hang them from a tree/but they'll never sign with me.'
    They both refused to identify who taught them the chant (most people could follow the bouncing ball enough anyway).
    Near the end of the video, Pettit (leading the chant) notices the student filming them and motions for them to shut their phone off.
    The outrage on social media was so substantial that a trending Twitter hashtag, #SAEHatesMe, gained wide traction.
    The sincerity of their public apologies issued was widely questioned (sorry they did it, even more sorry cuz they were caught).
    A student who shared the name 'Parker Rice' revealed to reporters who contacted him for a statement that the SAE Rice charged items to his account using his email address several times.
    The Oklahoma Sooners college football team held arm-in-arm protest vigils instead of attending practice as part of a response to the video; the team's star player also left OU in protest (16 Mar. 2016).

Why they might not be annoying:

    Friends defended their character by claiming they gave in to peer pressure.
    Parker Rice was a star football player in High School who was described as the class 'funny man,' although good-natured.
    Levi was a star golfer in high school (he led his team to a 2013 state championship).
    Rice claimed that he was under the influence of alcohol at the time he was leading the chant.
    Levi Pettit's parents basically threw him under the bus in a public statement.
    They had the bad luck to be the ones caught leading an offensive chant that had clearly been sung several times prior (probably pre-dating their enrollment at OU).
    The outrage over the chant led media outlets to take a closer look at Sigma Alpha Epsilon's history of discriminatory practices (it was founded in the antebellum South).

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 6 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 17 Votes: 88.24% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 4 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 23 Votes: 47.83% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 93 Votes: 62.37% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 938 Votes: 50.21% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 64 Votes: 67.19% Annoying