Todd Staples
Role at the time: Treasurer of the Texas Oil and Gas Association Good Government Committee and president of the association, in a statement to The Texas Tribune
Statement summary
Todd Staples, treasurer of the Texas Oil and Gas Association's Good Government Committee, condemned Bo French's September 13 post about South Asian students at the University of Texas. The association's political action committee had endorsed French days before the post. The association is the trade body for the industry the Railroad Commission regulates, the office French is seeking.
“TXOGA PAC unequivocally and without reservation condemns the recent tweet posted September 13th on X by Bo French. Respect is a cornerstone of our industry's core values.”
Why we used this label
Staples condemns the post in unqualified terms on behalf of the industry's political committee and grounds the objection in the industry's values. The closest competing label is “Challenged the characterization”, because the statement condemns the tweet without using the word racist or characterising French himself. That loses because the condemnation is of the post itself and is expressly unreserved; declining to attach a label to the speaker does not soften a rejection of the conduct.