Syracuse Fans Took Out An Ad In Student Newspaper Chastising Administration For Botched Roosevelt Bouie Ceremony

Syracuse basketball has picked up two huge victories over Louisville and Notre Dame in the last week, but they bookended a home loss to Pittsburgh that also featured an embarrassing botched jersey retirement ceremony. The school retired the jerseys of greats Roosevelt Bouie and Louis Orr, but misspelled Bouie's name as "Bowie" on the jersey it gave the former Orange center. 

While Bouie was very understanding about the mishap, Syracuse fans, who are already smarting from the program's self-imposed post-season ban, were not happy about the oversight, which many deemed disrespectful. Two Orange fans let their opinion be known by taking out an ad in today's edition of The Daily Orange, Syracuse's independent student newspaper:

The letter is addressed to Syracuse Athletics' Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director and Chief Communications Officer Joe Giansante, who referred to the gaffe as a "Snickers' commercial come to life."

"It was not something that — how can I say it — it wasn't something that you'd think would need to be looked at beforehand," Giansante said. "There were a lot of people surprised. It was an honest, human mistake. It was a Snickers' commercial come to life."

Giansante declined to name the athletic department employee who was tasked with the jersey.

"Look, it's an error," Giansante said. "An honest mistake. We're a team. An error was made and everyone bears the brunt of that, not a specific individual."

Giansante repeatedly referenced "regret" and "honest mistake."

"It's not something you want to happen," Giansante said. "You regret it."

Syracuse plays at Duke on Saturday. A third big win for the Orange late in the season would probably help put smiles back on the faces of Syracuse fans disgruntled by recent events like this.