Patterson condemns French’s post without reservation
Member of the Texas House of Representatives posting on his public X account.
“This is racist. It is wrong. And I condemn it without reservation. There is absolutely nothing Christian or conservative about looking at a crowd of young Texans at a college football game, seeing the color of their skin, and declaring that they are a “problem.””
The full case
Was Bo French’s UT Austin post racist?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Patterson’s direct response argues that immigration-policy disagreement does not justify demeaning people by race or ethnicity.
Reporting
About this source
State political reporting that documents the sequence of French’s posts and attributable responses from elected officials.
Reporting
About this source
Original local reporting that verified the still came from an official Texas Athletics video and published Abbott’s direct response.
Before the quotation
French had used the crowd image to make claims about foreign displacement and UT admissions.
After the quotation
Patterson distinguished his own strong immigration views from French’s treatment of the pictured fans.
How this statement is classified
Patterson explicitly says the conduct was wrong and condemns it without reservation.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Bo French
More from this case
Read the full case“That is not my message. A selective picture of Longhorn fans celebrating our biggest home victory-ever-actually shows a way that Texans unite. We all support our college football teams. The way we win the state is the same way we win football games. We unite under the brand of Texas. That doesn't mean that Texas cannot also lead in having the toughest immigration laws of any state in America and freezing H1B visas at our universities.”Read statement
“Bo French’s xenophobia should force Republicans to confront the prejudice in their ranks.”Read statement
“But what the people who tend to side with French are saying is that this is not at all what's happening, and they're right, too. This isn't natural immigration happening here. It's happening at such a rapid pace that the percentage of Indians arriving in places like North Texas is rising by leaps and bounds, and as it does, the culture shifts dramatically.”Read statement