Gators Won March Madness But Lost Their Iconic Cheer To Leftists

Right after the Florida Gators chomped their way to their third NCAA men’s basketball title this week, Walter Clayton Jr., the Final Four most outstanding player, cut down the net in celebration and led Florida fans in the famous Gator Chomp cheer. Good thing he stopped before calling the defeated Houston players “Gator Bait.” 

The University of Florida, succumbing to woke, perpetually victimized leftists, banned that part of the cheer in 2020 due to allegations of racism. In instituting the prohibition, University of Florida President Kent Fuchs stated, “While I know of no evidence of racism associated with our ‘Gator Bait’ cheer at UF sporting events, there is horrific historic racist imagery associated with the phrase.” Thus, Fuchs joined a growing list of woke do-gooders who supplanted common sense with silliness in an apparent competition to distract Americans from productive discussions about actual problems stemming from race relations.

Reasonable people may wonder how a sports cheer came to be considered an issue of race and discrimination. The connection is tenuous at best.

The University of Florida adopted the alligator as its mascot over 100 years ago. Apparently, in 1911, a local vendor placed an alligator emblem on a school pennant, birthing the Florida Gator. The mascot evolved into the playfully named Albert E. Gator and Alberta Gator, two green, plush, and whimsical representations of Florida alligators.

In 1981, the university band’s tuba players began playing two iconic notes from the theme of Jaws, a movie released in 1975. They got the idea from watching the Mississippi State Band. The Florida cheerleaders followed the two foreboding notes (“dun-dun”) with a gesture of outstretched arms toward the crowd, simulating the biting of an alligator’s mouth. The football crowd loved it, and the music and gesture, known originally as “Gator Jaws” became synonymous with Florida Gator football.   

John Williams, the brilliant composer who wrote the unparalleled Jaws movie theme, was underwhelmed at the association of his music with Gator football. He unsuccessfully endeavored to stop the use of his copyrighted work. Undeterred Gator fans routinely greeted each other with the famed gesture even when not at an athletic game. The cheer lived on.

Lawrence Wright, a black football player who helped lead the University of Florida Gators football team to a 1996 national championship, embellished the chant: “If you ain’t a Gator, ya Gator bait, baby!” That phrase, along with the Gator Chomp, became ubiquitous with Gator football fans.  

At Florida football games, the band played an introduction, and the fans mimicked an alligator bite by extending their arms and clapping, followed by the chant of “Gator Bait.” Gator fans reveled in their catchy football cheer. 

Gator Bait signs, apparel, and accessories adorned the buoyant Florida football fans until 2020, when Fuchs declared it racist and abruptly banned it. Unbeknownst to almost everyone, Florida history refers to some late-19th-century folklore, the validity of which is still up for debate, regarding the use of African American babies as enticement during alligator hunts. The mere thought of children anywhere near alligators, much less using them as bait, evokes terrifying imagery. Everyone agrees that anything even resembling that practice would be savagery. However, can anyone, in good conscience, tie a chant made up by a celebrating football player 100 years later, who himself was black, to that kind of depravity? Wright vehemently denies any racist intent and bemoans the ban. 

As Covid-19 spread during 2020 and racial tensions boiled, the momentum of finding racism and explaining to unknowing Americans that certain phrases and symbols oppress black people seemed unstoppable. In swift succession, we lost the brand logos for Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben’s rice, and Cream of Wheat due to alleged racist connotations. 

With President Donald Trump’s second term, perhaps America has turned a corner. Trump won the White House in part with incremental gains from black and Hispanic voters. After his inauguration, he immediately set out to promote merit-based opportunity and end the discrimination that arises from radical “diversity, equity, and inclusion” policies. While the woke mob did succeed in putting an end to the Gator Bait cheer, at least some of the leftist absurdity abated before it came for the Gator Chomp on some other silly theory. 

Watching the University of Florida fans and players celebrate their men’s NCAA win, spectators saw a combination of talent, hard work, smart coaching, and the luck inherent in advancing through the March Madness bracket. Racial preferences played no part. Hopefully, the Trump administration’s attack on discriminatory racial behavior will continue to bring about much-needed critical thinking regarding how Americans relate to each other and how we can all reach our full potential.  

Misguided leftist drivel, like taking offense at a team’s innocent cheering traditions, distracts everyone from actual issues. Congratulations to the Florida Gators, both on their basketball championship and the survival of at least the chomp portion of their cheer. 

Linda A. Kerns, a Philadelphia attorney, served as the Republican National Committee’s 2024 Election Integrity counsel in Pennsylvania. You can reach her at @lindakernslaw.