Two University of Texas at Austin students, Dhairya Gupta and Rahul Kodali, have spoken out after being singled out in a racist social media post by Bo French, the Republican nominee for the Texas Railroad Commission. French shared a photo of the pair celebrating UT Austin's fourth-quarter win over Ohio State, claiming US institutions had been "overrun by illegal aliens and foreign nationals" — despite both men being American citizens. The incident has sparked criticism of French and prompted university leaders to publicly defend the diversity of their student body.

Gupta, who gained US citizenship as a child after emigrating from India aged five, and Kodali, who was born in Syracuse, New York, and grew up in Texas, both said the comments were baseless and hurtful, insisting their support for the team had nothing to do with immigration status. UT Austin, which has around 44,000 students, is roughly 30% white, 28% Hispanic and 26% Asian, with fewer than 6,000 international students making up just 4.3% of the population. University president Jim Davis and UT System Board of Regents chairman Kevin Eltife both issued statements affirming that all students, regardless of background, are considered "Longhorns."