LOS ANGELES, September 22, 2026 – The social media post by the U.S. Department of Education was aimed at celebrating college football. However, the post has gotten embroiled in a controversy regarding race, belongingness, and remarks by a Texas politician regarding South Asian students.
On Sept. 19, the department put up an image with a crowd-filled stadium captioned, “MAKE COLLEGE FOOTBALL GREAT AGAIN,” and “MAKE EDUCATION GREAT AGAIN.” The image was put up by the department on its official handle at 4 p.m., according to the published post.
The timing quickly drew attention.
Just days before, Republican candidate for the Texas Railroad Commission, Bo French, posted an image of South Asians having a party during a UT football game. French wrote, “I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”
He was blamed for stereotyping students as foreign-looking people according to their looks. His comments provoked a backlash among both Democrats and Republicans, along with Asian-American representatives, who referred to his post as racist and xenophobic. Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus issued a joint statement denouncing the views of French. The statement did not suggest that the Education Department was involved.
Then the federal agency published its football graphic.
Users on X quickly made the connection between the two incidents. “Is the Education Department backing the comments made by French?” inquired one user. Another pointed out the poster “as a not-so-subtle endorsement of [French] comments.”
Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Illinois, separately suggested that the department was engaging in “playing dog whistles,” further increasing pressure on federal officials to clarify the intent behind the poster.
Here’s the key point of difference: the poster by the Education Department did not refer to French, his university, and South Asians in general. From the available information, it is not clear that the agency meant to back the comments of the politician.
That may sound like a narrow difference. It isn’t.
Government agencies are not like anonymous accounts when it comes to posting on social media. Their posts have authority, and a motto that would seem innocent enough by itself becomes something completely different when posted days after a racial dispute concerning college football fans.
The agency has not explained in public whether the graphic was planned before French posted, was part of a larger political campaign or if it was just a sports-related post. It was left to the critics to make up their own story, and online rage does not take time to wait for context.
French’s story has had its own life going on despite all this. Republican Texas politicians denounced his statements, but some refused to revoke their endorsement. It has also been revealed that most of the University of Texas students come from Texas according to state laws, and none of the students in French’s photo were foreigners.
For the Department of Education, the incident is a stark reminder that social media operated by government agencies cannot be considered a harmless posting platform. In the right context, a simple football saying can end up taking on a political message.
There are some elements that should come with college football, such as rivalry and drama. However, for an official government agency to join the fray amid discussions about race and national identity is another matter altogether.
