In a recent interview, Austin Metcalf’s father, Jeff Metcalf, expressed his disappointment with the family of Karmelo Anthony. Anthony, convicted of murder for the fatal stabbing of Metcalf during a track meet in Frisco, Texas, received a 35-year prison sentence. The incident, which occurred when both were 17, attracted national attention partly due to social media framing the case in racial terms. Anthony is Black and Metcalf was white, and none of the jurors in Anthony’s trial were Black, though some were people of color.
Some individuals, including Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett, believe race and the trial’s location influenced the verdict. Crockett suggested that the outcome might have differed if Anthony had been white.
During an interview on The Will Cain Show on Fox News, Jeff Metcalf criticized the racial framing of his son’s killing. He said, “The two things I said on one of the first interviews I ever did was, ‘Please don’t make this about race, please don’t politicize it.’ But they chose to do both.”
Metcalf also noted that he has not communicated with Anthony’s family. “I was actually hoping to show them, I know what happened was terrible. And your son made a horrible mistake. I was hoping for some accountability maybe and some remorse. Neither one was shown,” he stated.
When asked by Cain if he had ever spoken to the Anthonys, Metcalf replied, “No.” Cain further inquired, “No apology, no remorse?” to which Metcalf responded, “Nothing.”
Metcalf also mentioned that Anthony’s family and other supporters left the courtroom immediately after the verdict, not staying for the sentencing or victim impact statements. “They weren’t there for the sentencing and they were not there for victim impact statements,” he said. “They left that poor child up there by himself.”
This remains a developing story with more details to come.