Those of you following the Colorado racist email story — essentially, a football player and his cross-country running girlfriend sent a nasty racist email to Latino cross-country runner Greg Castro — probably already know that the football player Clint O'Neal and his girlfriend Jackie Zeigle have been booted from their respective teams, O'Neal temporarily, Zeigle permanently.
The email, which called Castro a "bean-eating piece of shit," among other things, was inspired, Zeigle says, by Castro's pushing of Jackie's sister, Laura, another cross country runner, at a party. (Castro says he was trying to separate Laura's ex-boyfriend from a fight they were having.) Laura is Jackie's twin sister, and she will remain on the team.
It's a sad day for the Zeigle sisters, actually; O'Neal seems to be just another meathead lineman, but the Zeigle twins were once among cross country's fastest rising stars. This story in American Profile magazine from 2002 details their friendship and their devout Christianity; Laura was actually a Nike Athlete Of The Year that season. And now Jackie's getting kicked off the team for racist emails, and Laura's getting in fights at parties, and we ask again: What in the world is going on in Boulder these days?
A Gift For Speed [American Profile]
Recipient Of Racist Email Satisfied With CU's Actions [Rocky Mountain News]