Iowa State’s Rasir Bolton confirms Pat Chambers’ noose comment led to transfer from Penn State

Rasir Bolton left Penn State because of Pat Chambers.

Penn State basketball fans that were left a bit confused when standout freshman Rasir Bolton announced that he was going to leave the Nittany Lions for Iowa State finally got some clarity on the whole ordeal.

Bolton confirmed on Twitter that head coach Pat Chambers, one day after his one-game suspension, referenced a “noose” around Bolton’s neck. Bolton, in an interview with The Undefeated, said that Chambers used that word in reference to his desire to alleviate the pressure on the young freshman. Despite averaging 11.6 points per game as a true freshman, Bolton decided to bolt Happy Valley for Ames and commit to the Cyclones.

“Due to other interactions with Coach, I knew this was no slip of the tongue.”

Bolton averaged 14.7 points as a sophomore for the Cyclones, and that number figures to jump in 2020-21 as he becomes the No. 1 scoring option.

Bolton never saw eye to eye with Chambers.

In Bolton’s statement, he asserted that he sought professional help from a psychologist as he tried to find “ways to deal with coach Chambers’ personality.” The most incendiary comments came when Bolton said Chambers’ justification for using that word was the fact he is “from the North and wasn’t aware.” Bolton also thinks that teammates were told he “wasn’t all in” after the incident with Chambers.

Chambers, a former coach at Boston University who led Penn State to a 21-10 record this season, released a statement on Twitter in which he apologized profusely, claiming he has to “recognize my responsibility in better understanding the experiences of others.”

Chambers’ language might not have been outright racist, but it is without a doubt offensive, indefensible, and completely unacceptable. A coach using words like that in 2019 comes across as incredibly backward and narrow-minded. Chambers seemed contrite and sincere in his apology, but the ripple effects from his poor choice of words could keep hampering the Nittany Lion program.

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