University of Michigan Cancels Showing Of "American Sniper" After Student Protest...Coach Harbaugh Says Fuck That, The Team Is Watching

College Fix - A scheduled movie screening of “American Sniper” at the University of Michigan was abruptly cancelled Tuesday after nearly 300 students and others complained the film perpetuates “negative and misleading stereotypes” against Muslims.

“The movie American Sniper not only tolerates but promotes anti-Muslim … rhetoric and sympathizes with a mass killer,” according to an online letter circulated among the campus community via Google Docs that garnered the signatures.

The signers were mostly students, but also some staff, as well as the Muslim Students’ Association and the president of Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, a Palestinian solidarity group at UMich.

The online memo, titled a “collective letter from Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) and Muslim students on campus,” accused the public university of “tolerating dangerous anti-Muslim and anti-MENA propaganda” by showing the movie, the highest grossing film of 2014.

“Chris Kyle was a racist who took a disturbing stance on murdering Iraqi civilians,” the collective letter stated. “Middle Eastern characters in the film are not lent an ounce of humanity and watching this movie is provocative and unsafe to MENA and Muslim CollectiveLetter students who are too often reminded of how little the media and world values their lives. … The University of Michigan should not participate in further perpetuating these negative and misleading stereotypes.”

The film was set to be shown Friday on campus, but the letter – which asked for its cancellation – was successful.

“While our intent was to show a film, the impact of the content was harmful, and made students feel unsafe and unwelcomed at our program,” stated The Center for Campus Involvement, which oversees student activities and is run by university employees, as it announced its decision Tuesday on its various social media accounts, including Twitter and Facebook.

“We deeply regret causing harm to members of our community, and appreciate the thoughtful feedback provided to us by students and staff alike.”

“We have elected to pull the film from this week’s program and screen another movie in its place that we believe better creates the fun, engaging atmosphere we seek, without excluding valued members of our community,” the center stated.

Jim Harbaugh’s Response:

I’ll tell you what, I honestly wanted to hate Michigan football this year. No not because I have anything against them, not because I dislike Jim Harbaugh. Just solely out of spite for El Pres. Thinking about reading #HarbaughEffect blogs for the next decade as Michigan rattles off national title after national title just sounded like hell on Earth. But after this move I’m afraid that’s just flat out impossible. Can’t do it. Not when Jim Harbaugh just took his balls out and slapped every PC whiny baby on campus in the face with them. A world where a small minority can stomp their feet loud enough to get American Sniper changed to Paddington the stuffed bear so nobody’s feelings get hurt is not a world that Jim wants to live in and certainly not a campus he wants to coach on. One that treats an American hero like a criminal for doing his job well in an impossible situation. Fuck that. Not on Jim’s watch.

UPDATE: Scheduled this blog last night, woke up to this first thing in the morning:

Umm can you say The Harbaugh Effect?