Darby calls for deletion and an apology
Drew DarbyMember of the Texas House of Representatives posting on his public X account.
Darby called the post racist, said it was unbecoming of a Railroad Commission candidate, and requested deletion and an apology.
Responding to
French’s posts demeaned the pictured people because of their race or ethnicity.
“This is racism, plain and simple. I have served on the Energy Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Railroad Commission, for most of my tenure in the Texas House, and I have never seen conduct so unbecoming of a Railroad Commissioner or candidate in that time. The right thing to do is immediately delete this and issue an apology.”
Original post
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Was Bo French’s UT Austin post racist?
After the University of Texas football team’s September 12, 2026 comeback win over Ohio State, Republican Railroad Commission nominee Bo French posted a still image of apparent South Asian fans and called what it showed a “problem.” He later said social media was exposing Americans being displaced by foreigners and accused UT of prioritizing foreigners over Texans. French and several supporters framed the posts as a legitimate criticism of immigration and admissions policy. Republican and Democratic officials, along with other commentators, condemned the use of the fans’ appearance as racist or xenophobic. Governor Greg Abbott rejected French’s interpretation of the image while reaffirming support for restrictive immigration policies.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Darby’s direct response says French should delete the post and apologize, and argues the conduct is unbecoming of a Railroad Commission candidate.
Reporting
About this source
State political reporting that documents the sequence of French’s posts and attributable responses from elected officials.
Before the quotation
French was the Republican nominee for an office overseen in part by the legislative committee on which Darby served.
After the quotation
Darby also argued that immigration policy falls outside the Railroad Commission’s regulatory role.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Darby expressly condemns the conduct as racist and demands that French retract it and apologize.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Bo French
More from this case
Read the full caseRosenthal calls donations a rejection of French
“The people are rejecting this bold, racist campaign of his.”Read statement
Krishnamoorthi calls French’s UT fan post a xenophobic attack
“The Department of Education seems to be playing dog whistles to Bo French’s tune just days after his xenophobic attack on South Asian students for cheering for their own college football team. South Asian Americans are as American as anyone.”Read statement
French says his UT fan posts were about culture, not race
“It’s fair to say that Texas doesn’t look and feel like it did when I was a kid, and that’s not racist.”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Darby calls for deletion and an apology
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/575-darby-called-the-post-racist-said-it-was
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Darby calls for deletion and an apology". First published: 2026-09-15. Last updated: 2026-09-15. https://disputeindex.com/events/575-darby-called-the-post-racist-said-it-was