Crass Comment Leads Baylor to Reject Custom Jeep from Local Dealership

Some of us crack under pressure, and it appears that may be what happened when a local dealership manager recently made a questionable comment on live television.

According to a report from our news partners at KWTX, the Baylor athletics department has decided not to accept a vehicle donation from Allen Samuels Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram in Waco after the General Manager made a statement that did not align with the college's values.

On Tuesday night, a parade was held in Waco to celebrate the Baylor's Men's Basketball team after they won the first national championship in program history.

General Manager of Allen Samuels Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram, Ted Teague was being interviewed by KWTX and recounting the long tradition of gifting a vehicle to Baylor when they win national championships. Each time that coach Kim Mulkey brought home a national championship, Allen Samuels would gift Mulkey a corvette to use for a year. This year due to the on-going pandemic, a corvette was not feasible, so Allen Samuels decided to donate a white Jeep Wrangler custom wrapped with Baylor logos.

Ted Teague then stated, "Coach Scott can enjoy it and go use it to recruit, pull some people out of the hood."

Yikes.

Teague immediately faced backlash from the community and penned a letter to the public.

“I recently did a live interview and sadly misspoke using the word ‘hood’ in reference to neighborhood. As the word came out of my mouth, I instantly knew it was the absolute wrong word,” Teague wrote. “I know that I disrespected a countless number of people within our amazing Waco community, and beyond. I am deeply disappointed and saddened by my actions and offer each of you my most sincere apologies.”

From my own personal perspective, I don't think the usage of the word "hood" is what the community was upset about, but the context. When you say "pull some people out" beforehand it changes the meaning behind the word "hood." It implies that those with talent in our community need to be rescued instead of recruited.

We've all made mistakes or have misspoken. The important thing is that we're able to learn from those mistakes and move forward positively.