There was very little drama when it came to the Nebraska-Iowa game on the field as the Hawkeyes made quick work of the Cornhuskers in a blowout win. Off the field, though, might be a different story.
Following Iowa’s 40-10 beatdown of Nebraska Friday, Hawkeye defensive tackle Faith Ekakitie (pictured, left) alleged to the assembled media that he had been subjected to racial slurs spewed by what he described as a couple of Cornhusker football players. Other than they were offensive linemen, Ekakitie declined to identify the specific players, as well as what slurs were directed at him.
” There were a couple of guys out there, obviously it wasn’t their whole team, but they were throwing around racial slurs,” Ekakitie said. “I think anyone who is going out of their way to disrespect someone in that manner, regardless of the competitive field, you’re a piece of trash. I’ll say it to his face, too. I’m not going to hide my face. I’m very up front and I’ll tell you as it is. It’s never been acceptable to me and it never will be. ...
“I feel when it’s that upfront and that blatant, if you are to completely ignore it, then you’re a coward in my opinion.”
An NU spokesperson stated that "[t]he Nebraska football staff and athletics administration are aware of the post-game comments by the Iowa student-athlete.”
Ekakitie made national news back in June in the midst of an Iowa City Police Department search for a suspect in a bank robbery. The lineman Faith Ekakitie just happened to be in a park in that area and seemingly matched the description of the suspect — black man in black clothing wearing something on his head — prompting the officers to approach the lineman. When Ekakitie failed to respond to the officers’ commands, because he was wearing headphones, weapons were drawn.
According to Ekakitie in his Facebook accounting of the incident, he had “four gun barrels staring me in the face” at that point. In his social media missive, Ekakitie thanked the police officers involved for how they handled the situation.
