Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins want Clemson to stop honoring pro-slavery politician

Two NFL stars have joined Clemson students’ opposition to honoring John C. Calhoun.

Former Clemson stars Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins are advocating for change at their university.

During his time as Vice President and as a U.S. Senator from South Carolina, John C. Calhoun pushed the radical theory of nullification, a doctrine that suggested a state could unilaterally strike down federal laws it considered to be unconstitutional. Now, a couple of NFL standouts that came of age in the Palmetto State are on a mission to nullify Calhoun himself.

Watson of the Houston Texans and Hopkins of the Arizona Cardinals have joined a group of current students pushing to rename the university’s Calhoun Honors College, owing to its direct connection to a notoriously racist, pro-slavery figure.

Clemson should name buildings after Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins

“I felt this oppressive figure during my time at Clemson and purposely do not mention the University’s name before NFL games because of it,” Hopkins wrote on Instagram. “I am joining the voices of the students and faculty who have restarted this petition to rename the Calhoun Honors College.”

Yes, Nuk is serious — and he has leverage. If you ever wondered why he never uttered Clemson’s name during lineup introductions on Sunday Night Football, you know now.

This movement comes against the backdrop of the revelation of assistant coach Danny Pearman uttering a racial slur at a Clemson player three years ago, as well as head coach Dabo Swinney‘s reluctance to speak unequivocally on the matter, as well as the ongoing protests against systemic oppression and police brutality.

These two MVP-level NFL operators aren’t sitting on the sidelines.

Calhoun didn’t attend Clemson and he wasn’t a donor; the institution was founded almost 40 years after his death. During this time of national reckoning on the subject of race, the time truly is now not to stop with the toppling of Confederate monuments.

In fact, it might just be the time to conduct a ribbon-cutting for the grand re-opening of the Watkins-Hopkins Honors College.

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