Ben Hill Griffin Stadium saw 90,295 people cram the stands when Florida football won 66-21 in its season-opener against Florida Atlantic on Sept. 5. It also saw the return of the once-banned “Gator Bait” chant.
The chant was initially popularized by former Florida football player Lawrence Wright, who said, “If you ain’t a gator, you’re gator bait, baby” after a win against Florida State in 1995.
In a statement to the UF community on June 18, 2020, during a wake of unrest across the country after George Floyd’s death and the Black Lives Matter movement, former Florida president Kent Fuchs said, “while I know of no evidence of racism associated with our ‘Gator Bait’ cheer at UF sporting events, there is horrific racist imagery associated with the phrase.”…