2 UH volleyball players appear in video with racist caption regarding 1935 lynching

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A racist video involving at least two University of Houston students has sparked outrage on campus.

The students in the video, who are a part of the UH volleyball team, are seen laughing at the reference to a public lynching location in Columbus.

According to The Cougar, the campus newspaper, one of the two players in the video is from Columbus, Texas.

The video, which we're showing as a snapshot, didn't have any audio, but the caption reads, "This is the hanging tree where we used to hang people."

The students, who ABC13 isn't naming, are seen in the video driving by a large oak tree where two teenage boys were publicly lynched in November 1935.

According to The Cougar, the initial video was recorded by a freshman on Snapchat then posted anonymously on a Twitter account over the weekend.

The post started spreading on social media and sparking outrage from students.

ABC13 spoke to a UH student-athlete, who didn't want to be identified. She heard about the disturbing video and said she was not surprised.

"The way I am treated here at this university is not the best, and I think it does have something to do with skin tone," She said. "So when I hear about little things like the volleyball (video) and I'm not surprised, but it is disappointing."

A spokesperson for UH sent this statement about the video:

"The University is aware of the video, which does not represent our values and is inconsistent with our efforts to foster a diverse, inclusive and respectful environment. As the second most diverse public research institution in the country, we encourage constructive and respectful dialogue, cultural awareness, and a spirit of unity. We understand the concerns this has caused. UH follows internal policies as well as all applicable local, state and federal laws when assessing any situation. In accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), UH cannot comment on any situation involving specific students."

Andrew Pate, the Associate AD/Strategic Communications with the University's athletic department also says:

"We are aware of the situation and are actively performing our due diligence. Due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), we are unable to provide additional comment or specifics at this time."

ABC13 attempted to contact the players in the video for comment and both students have deleted their Twitter accounts.