LUBBOCK, Texas — A Texas Tech spokesman said Thursday night that a viral Facebook post is not true. The post said in part, “The Texas Tech Board of Regents just cancelled the annual Tech football Cotton game.”
The viral post said Texas Tech would no longer honor cotton because “the cotton industry is an insult to all black people.”
A spokesman for Texas Tech said the Board of Regents did no such thing, and the post is not true. EverythingLubbock.com independently confirmed that the regents did not make any changes to the game.
There was a change (not made by the regents) publicly announced back on July 17. Texas Tech announced a list of games which would honor different people or businesses. It included a September 7 “Agriculture Game.”
A Tech spokesman on Thursday evening said the change was in part to support Texas Tech’s up-and-coming School of Veterinary Medicine, and in part to support all of the various ag industries in West Texas.
Back on July 17, Tech said, “The UTEP game will serve as the Agriculture Game where Tech will highlight not only the cotton industry but also the beef, dairy and other crops vital to Texas Tech and the South Plains.”
One week after that will be the “Energy Game … which honors the West Texas oil, gas and wind industries.”
The viral post on Thursday evening had more than 1,000 reactions, 123 comments and (by 9:30 pm) more than a 1,000 shares.
Update: the post has been removed from Facebook.
