SPOKANE, Wash. – Ephraim Watkins, a former football player at Whitworth University, has shared his experience of feeling betrayed by his teammates during a senior retreat.
Watkins, who was a starting player by his sophomore year, had been proud to be a part of the Whitworth Pirates. However, he recounted a troubling incident that occurred at an overnight retreat before his senior year.
Upon arriving at the campsite, Watkins noticed flags that made him uncomfortable. “If I had a picture of the grounds, you have the campsite, which is about 100 yards away, maybe 200. And then you have the person who owns its house and the person who owns the house has Confederate flags, Aryan Nation flags, all kinds of white supremacist flags,” Watkins said.
The presence of these flags made Watkins want to leave immediately. “I made the team captains aware, made the team aware. I knew that I wasn’t going to stay there that night, I made that pretty clear,” he said.
Despite his concerns, the senior players voted to stay, which left Watkins feeling unsafe and upset. “Definitely betrayed, especially you play for people, you sweat you bleed,” Watkins said.
In the days following the incident, Watkins met with coaches, teammates and school staff. He decided to step away from football, sending a letter to the team explaining his decision.
“It was tough to see that when people were down and out, and I helped them, they didn’t seem to help me on the back end but, I guess that happens in life and you’re gonna have to be able to deal with situations like that,” Watkins said.
NonStop Local reached out to the captains of the senior retreat, but they did not respond. The nonprofit organization responsible for the campsite, Peak 7, explained that their primary camping location was unavailable, leading them to choose an alternate site. Upon noticing the Confederate flag, they took immediate action to relocate the group and apologized to Watkins for the situation.
Whitworth University did not oversee the retreat but provided a statement emphasizing their commitment to the care and dignity of every student. They are reviewing how student-organized activities are structured.
Watkins has since spoken with several teammates who voted to stay at the campsite. “I definitely know that the guys who laughed, well I would say 2 out of the 3 were very apologetic,” he said, though some relationships were irreparably changed.
Watkins, the grandson of Spokane civil rights leader Happy Watkins, shared his story publicly to continue the legacy of his grandfather. “I want to do everything I can to make sure that people who like me have the same opportunity and have the chance to go forth and set the world on fire without these things, but I know we’re not at that point in history,” Watkins said.
