Darsh Singh was born and raised in San Antonio and tonight he tells NBC 5 he is shocked to learn his image is being used in a message of hate on social media.
Darsh Singh was born and raised in San Antonio.
More than a decade ago, he spent four years playing basketball for Trinity University.
It was during those years, a photo was taken of Singh in his basketball jersey.
Last week, someone posted the photo to Facebook with the text: “Nobody at school wants to guard Muhammad, he’s too explosive.”
For two very different reasons, the post went viral.
Some thought it was funny. Others were offended by it. Darsh is indifferent.
“It's difficult to look like I do and then go and challenge somebody because people would assume I'm coming from a place of hate,” he said. “They don't know me. They don't know who I am. They don’t know my character. It doesn’t affect me.”
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The photo refers to him as Muhammad, implying that he is a Muslim, with a negative connotation.
Singh is not a Muslim. He’s Sikh, a prominent Indian religion.
“What's challenging now is that as more and more people are getting riled up, America is struggling with its identity," said Singh. "It’s in this fight or flight mode and we're losing our value system a little bit."
Sikh is the fifth largest religion in the world. (Judaism is sixth.)
Singh is the first NCAA player to ever wear a turban in game play. His jersey is now in the Smithsonian museum.
After college, Singh worked for U.S. Intelligence as an engineer.
“It’s extremely important to understand that love and compassion are the most powerful forces in the world,” he said. “If we can embody those, we can move past some of the challenges that are dividing us and come together to face the real challenges."
