Dr. Stacey Patton, a professor at Howard University’s School of Communications, penned an opinion piece titled “Dear Jeff Metcalf: Your Son Is Dead Because You Failed to Teach Him That Black Boys Have Boundaries” to Substack on Wednesday on Substack, where she insinuated Anthony was acting out of self-defense.

“YOU failed to teach your boy that Black children have boundaries,” Patton wrote. “YOU failed teach humility, restraint, or the sacred fact that another person’s body is not your jurisdiction. YOU failed to teach him that another child’s space is not a challenge to be conquered. YOU failed to teach him that “community” does not mean white boys get to decide who belongs and who does not.”

Patton’s piece was published a day after Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the murder of Metcalf. The case drew national after now 19-year-old Anthony stabbed 17-year-old Metcalf in the heart during a confrontation at a high school track meeting in April 2025. The case has become a flashpoint in broader debates about race, with Anthony’s supporters arguing he has been treated differently because he is Black, while critics have rejected efforts to make the murder of Metcalf, a white teenager, about race.

Patton’s piece was published a day after Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the murder of Metcalf. The case drew national after now 19-year-old Anthony stabbed 17-year-old Metcalf in the heart during a confrontation at a high school track meeting in April 2025. The case has become a flashpoint in broader debates about race, with Anthony’s supporters arguing he has been treated differently because he is Black, while critics have rejected efforts to make the murder of Metcalf, a white teenager, about race.

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