Update: The athletic department released the following statement concerning Lyerla’s tweets:
“Twitter posts attributed to student-athlete Colt Lyerla concerning the tragedy at Sandy Hook are insensitive and offensive, especially those devastated by the shootings, and we have communicated as much to Colt. Though the University of Oregon Department of Athletics as well as the football program have social media expectations in place for our student-athletes, at times, personal opinions go well beyond what we expect from our students. The University of Oregon and Department of Athletics understand that our young men and women have a great deal of freedom of expression on social media but with that freedom comes responsibility. Our prayers and thoughts continue to be with the families of Sandy Hook.”
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Oregon tight end Colt Lyerla created a stir on Twitter Thursday morning after he tweeted a YouTube link that suggests the Sandy Hook shooting was done by the U.S. government. The video also advocates for the second amendment and the right to own assault weapons.
If you have a half hour you should watch this and enlighten yourself. youtu.be/VrngdgUixYg
— ..::⚡C⚡::.. (@ThaRealCL) March 21, 2013
When pressed by another Twitter user, Lyerla laid out his opinion plainly:
@anhyzerroc I got you. The parents of the kids that supposedly died in the sandy hook situation are liars.
— ..::⚡C⚡::.. (@ThaRealCL) March 21, 2013
Lyerla retweeted a few Twitter users who appeared to agree with his point of view. Lyerla and Twitter user @anhyzerroc argued for over an hour about the validity of his claims.