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The UCF football program has been forced to apologize following a 56-6 blowout win over Kent State in Week One, but it has nothing to do with any actions on the field.
Instead, the issue stems from a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Following the game, the UCF Football account sent out a message that had a photo of quarterback John Rhys Plumlee on the phone on the sidelines reading, “Somebody call the National Guard.”
It was a reference to a famous Shannon Sharpe moment where he “phoned the President” to call the National Guard during a game between the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots.
However, some of the older crowd was drawn to a darker moment in Kent State’s past.
Only took one night of college football for some social media person to get fired pic.twitter.com/H7jsITbCoW
— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) September 1, 2023
In 1970, the National Guard was deployed to Kent State due to protests from students regarding the Vietnam War. When the National Guard was on campus, troops fired into the crowd and killed four students, while nine others were injured.
“An unfortunate post was made with the intention to reference the famous Shannon Sharpe sideline clip of him on the phone from a 1996 game against the New England Patriots,” UCF said in a statement, via USA Today.
“As soon as our staff was made aware of the unintended reference to the unfortunate event that took place at Kent State in 1970, the post was removed. It was addressed with our staff immediately, and updated protocols have been put in place to avoid a situation like this in the future. Vice President and Director of Athletics Terry Mohajir has apologized to Kent State Director of Athletics Randale L. Richmond.”
The post was later deleted.
As for on the field, the UCF offense put on a show with 723 total yards. Plumlee threw for 281 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions on 22-of-30 passing.
Up next for the Knights is a trip to Albertsons Stadium for a showdown with Boise State on Saturday, September 9. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. ET.