TCU not connected to Phoenix teen in viral photo showing racial slur

A social media frenzy seeking to have the college scholarships of six Phoenix-area high school students rescinded — after the teen girls were pictured in T-shirts that spelled out a racial slur — has wrongly put TCU in its crosshairs, a university spokeswoman said Monday.

The posts, which began circulating on Facebook and Twitter on Monday, state that one of the high school seniors seen in the viral photo will be attending TCU and a member of the TCU Showgirls, the school’s dance team that appears at sporting events and other functions.

“Everyone please call or email these school officials and get these racists kicked out of school! Please share and repost!” one Facebook posts reads.

TCU spokeswoman Holly Ellman said admission’s records show no such student has been admitted to the university.

Ellman said a different student with the same first and last name had previously attended TCU but graduated in 2013.

“We’re thinking maybe somehow that what crossing wires with TCU. I can’t think of any other reason,” Ellman said. “She’s never connected to the athletic department at all. They don’t know who she is.”

Ellman said the athletics department had received one email on the matter as of Friday afternoon. She said a few other people had posted privately on the university’s Facebook page.

This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 5:33 PM with the headline "TCU not connected to Phoenix teen in viral photo showing racial slur."