Dhairya Gupta, 21, and Rahul Kodali, 21, were seen cheering in the stands as the Longhorns defeated Ohio State on Saturday, their faces captured in a celebratory snapshot that would soon go viral.
Texas Republican Bo French, who is running for the Railroad Commission, shared the photo on social media with a caption praising the university’s diversity.
The post sparked a torrent of racist comments that called the two students “illegal” and suggested they were on visas. Gupta told the Dallas Morning News that he and Kodali are US citizens, with Gupta having become a citizen at age five and Kodali holding in‑state tuition status.
Senator John Cornyn and House Speaker Dustin Burrow condemned French’s remarks, saying that silence would allow intolerance to become normalized. University President Jim Davis and UT System Board Chair Kevin P. Eltife also issued statements affirming that all students are Longhorns.
French now faces intensified scrutiny ahead of the November election for the Railroad Commission, as voters and party leaders weigh whether his comments undermine his candidacy.