The University of Oklahoma's former SAE chapter is suing the university and has made an eyebrow-raising choice for representation. Rogue alumni of the fraternity kicked off of campus have hired attorney Stephen Jones, best known for representing Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. They're outraged that the entire fraternity has been banned because of the video of SAE's racist chant.
From NewsChannel4:
"Jones told NewsChannel 4 the group is outraged over President Boren shutting down the fraternity house and branding all SAE members as racists and bigots.
Jones says the two students who were expelled because of the incident have apologized sincerely for their remarks, and now the incident is being exploited.
He said they lacked judgment in a social setting, but they should not be tarred and feathered as racists."
Jones is already off to a tremendous start, comparing taking away a social club from a group of privileged, white males to a form of tortuous humiliation notoriously used against African Americans.
SAE national headquarter's have been quick to deny any involvement in the lawsuit. A statement issued today reads:
"The Sigma Alpha Epsilon national headquarters, or national fraternity, has not retained legal representation, nor do we intend to pursue any action against the University of Oklahoma. Based on reports that have been brought to our attention, certain local alumni may have retained legal representation, but we cannot validate those reports nor are we involved in that matter. There has been no communication from the alumni advisory group to the national headquarters since the chapter closing. We support and respect the university administrators’ decision to revoke recognition of the group."
At this point it's unclear if Jones is representing any of the other students being investigated by OU.
[via BuzzFeed]
