Sharron Angle: Black Football Jerseys Are 'Thoroughly Evil'

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Nevada Republican Sharron Angle has made no shortage of unusual statements during her campaign against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. But even compared to her more recent behavior, this alleged incident from 18 years ago, if true, really stands out. The Pahrump Valley Times' Bill Roberts says that, in 1992, Angle campaigned against a local high school's decision to use black jerseys, which she called un-Christian and wicked. Roberts recalls, "I cannot quote scripture as they did to justify their point but the gist of their argument was that black as a color was thoroughly evil, invoking the supernatural and especially the devil." Angle, who in 1992 was running for her first public office on the Nye County school board, won election to the state legislature in 1998.

Roberts says that Angle, who succeeded in forcing the school to choose a non-black design, objected to the jerseys only on the basis of their color and for purely religious reasons. Roberts concludes, "Nevada voters who did not know so before now are learning that religion is a big part of any Angle campaign, just as it was so many years ago. ... Last week, an Angle campaign spokesman insisted the candidate is tolerant of others' views. That was not the case 18 years ago when her religious preference was displayed during a campaign for the county school board."

When asked by reporters on Wednesday about the alleged incident, Angle responded, "You know that was 20 years ago. I don't know what Bill Roberts' recollections are, and it really doesn't matter because Nevadans care about their homes, their jobs, and the economy. ... I will just tell you that Bill Roberts and I have completely different recollections of what happened in '91."

The Huffington Post's Nick Wing counters, "such a stance [against black jerseys] would not be entirely uncharacteristic of the deeply religious Senate candidate that Angle has shown herself to be since capturing her primary victory in June." Wing details Angle's use of heavily religious language throughout the campaign, but he tellingly writes his post in a thoroughly evil black-colored font.