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Texas Teen Chided for Being Accepted Into 20 Colleges Demands Public Apology from Fox Affiliate — But Got This Instead

Micheal Brown Apology

Micheal Brown has refused to let his interview with Fox DC reporter Holly Morris air until he receives a public apology. (Image courtesy of Berthinia Rutledge-Brown)

The Black teen who snagged 20 full ride offers from colleges across the country wants journalists at a Fox DC affiliate to apologize for calling his decision to apply to multiple prestigious schools “obnoxious.”

An anchor and contributor at Fox 5 in Washington, D.C. faced severe backlash after they chided Texas teen Micheal Brown for applying to 20 different colleges. In a segment that aired April 3, co-anchor Holly Morris and contributor Sarah Fraser called applying to that many schools flat out “ridiculous.”

“Don’t you think it’s a little ridiculous this kid applied to 20 [colleges], basically wait-listing another kid,” Fraser commented.

Morris quickly chimed in, saying, “He could’ve applied to five; he would have gotten in to all five and it would be equally impressive … I think it’s a little obnoxious because you can only accept one full ride. And you’re taking a spot from someone else who worked really hard.”

Two days after the segment aired, Brown tweeted that he had a “respectful interview” with Morris but said he would not allow their interview to air until he received a public apology. Brown’s mother, Berthinia Rutledge Brown, told USA TODAY that the anchor never said she was sorry and instead said she “didn’t mean to offend” the college-bound teen. She said she and her son haven’t received an apology from the station either.

As for Fraser, the contributor tweeted that she’s since apologized to Brown and his mother for her remarks.

News of her in-person apology to Brown didn’t go over well with critics, however.

Boasting an impressive 4.6 GPA, Brown beat the odds against him as a child growing up in a low-income area of Houston, Texas. Last week, footage of the Lamar High School student’s joyous reaction to an acceptance letter from dream school Stanford University went viral on social media. There was plenty of celebratory jumping, screaming and crying involved.

Brown was granted acceptance to and offered full scholarships to 19 other colleges, including for Ivy League schools. He’s narrowed down his options to Georgetown, Stanford, Harvard and Yale and plans to announce his decision at the end of the month.

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