Update: Added comment from State Farm, March 22, 2012, 10:15 AM ET
A Puerto Rican group denounced State Farm Insurance for using former Indiana Hoosier basketball coach Bobby Knight in its TV advertisements appearing during NCAA March Madness men’s college basketball tournament games.
The National Puerto Rican Coalition, a nonprofit, non-partisan Hispanic organization that says it represents the voice of the Puerto Rican community, urged State Farm to pull its ads and apologize to Puerto Ricans.
Knight is now a commentator on ESPN and ABC during their college basketball coverage.
“State Farm should be ashamed to have associated their brand with an individual that has documented anger issues and has openly expressed denigrating remarks of U.S citizens. This is poor corporate social responsibility” said Rafael A. Fantauzzi, President and CEO of the National Puerto Rican Coalition.
Fantauzzi also noted an “unfortunate incident” at a NCAA college basketball game last week, between Southern Mississippi University and Kansas State University, where members of the SMU band were changing racist remarks at a Puerto Rican player.
“We are very concerned about the conceivable racial intolerance in collegiate sports,” he added. “If State Farm cares about their consumers, they should pull their ads immediately and issue a heartfelt apology to the entire Puerto Rican community.”
During the 1979 Pan American Games, coach Bobby Knight was convicted in absentia of punching police officer Juan de Silva before a July 1979 practice session. Although sentenced to six months in jail, Puerto Rican authorities were unable to arrest or extradite Knight. The warrant issued for his arrest in Puerto Rico was later recalled.
Knight was quoted in Sports Illustrated as saying of Puerto Ricans, “The only thing they know how to do is grow bananas.”
State Farm indicated in a statement to IFA that “Mr. Knight is not a State Farm spokesperson. He is simply portraying an intimidating hard-to-please customer. Our intent with this commercial, as with all commercials, is to entertain and inform.”
Puerto Rican group wants Bobby Knight off State Farm TV ads via IFAwebnews.com .
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