Two Liberty Football Players to Transfer, Cite School Leadership's 'Racial Insensitivity'

Two Liberty football players have entered the transfer portal, citing racial insensitivity within the university's leadership.

Cornerbacks Kei'Trel Clark and Tayvion Land announced on social media Monday their decision to enter the portal after contemplating their futures at the school.

In a statement, Clark said the decision was "simply bigger than football or the program."

"However due to the cultural [incompetence] within multiple levels of leadership, it does not line up with my code of ethics," he said. "So therefore I had to do what I felt like was right in my heart, and I pray that you support me and pray for me as I find a new home to further my education and football career."

Land, who ranks No. 1 on Liberty's all-time recruits list, echoed a similar sentiment in his statement.

"Unfortunately, due to the racial insensitivity displayed by leadership at Liberty University, I have decided to enter my name into the transfer portal and no longer be a student-athlete at Liberty University," Land said. "I pray that I am able to be provided with [an] opportunity at a new school that respects my culture and provides a comfortable environment."

Clark and Land's decisions come two weeks after women's basketball player Asia Todd said she planned to transfer because of "racial insensitivities shown within the leadership and culture" of the school.

Todd announced her decision shortly after Liberty president Jerry Falwell Jr. apologized for a tweet in late May that included a photo of one person in black face and another in a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe. The image, which came from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's medical school yearbook, was printed on a face mask in the photo. In his tweet, Falwell said he was "adamantly opposed" to Northam's mandate to wear masks during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Falwell said the tweet was intended to "remind all of the governor's racist past." Black Liberty alumni quickly called out Falwell for the tweet.

"After listening to African-American L.U. leaders and alumni over the past week and hearing their concerns, I understand that by tweeting an image to remind all of the governor’s racist past, I actually refreshed the trauma that image had caused and offended some by using the image to make a political point," Falwell said in his apology.