Austin Metcalf’s father has said the family of Karmelo Anthony never spoke to him or expressed remorse for the fatal stabbing of his son.
Anthony, 19, was sentenced to 35 years in prison earlier this month after being convicted of murder for fatally stabbing Metcalf at a track meet in Frisco, Texas, when both were 17. The case drew national attention, partly because of social media posts that amplified the killing in racial terms. Anthony is Black, Metcalf was white and none of the jurors in Anthony’s trial were Black, though some were people of color.
After the trial, some have said that race and the trial’s venue played a role in the verdict, with Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett is among those who said the outcome would have been different if Anthony was white.
Metcalf’s father Jeff Metcalf criticized those who framed his son’s killing in racial terms during an interview on The Will Cain Show on Fox News Monday.
“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,'” he said. “But they chose to do both.”
He also said that he has never spoken to 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 told Cain.
“Have you ever spoken to the Anthonys?” Cain asked him.
“No,” Metcalf replied.
Cain then asked:” “No apology, no remorse?”
“Nothing,” Metcalf said.
He also told Cain that members of Anthony’s family and other advocates left the courtroom immediately after the verdict and were not there for the sentencing.
“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.”
Metcalf Calls Out Focus on Race
Metcalf pointed to a press conference in April last year where Anthony’s parents spoke for the first time as a turning point.
Police were called to the scene after the news conference began and Metcalf was asked to leave, CBS News reported at the time.
“I was there to show up to pray. I was hoping we could show the world this wasn’t a racial divide thing, that we could kind of close the gap instead of widening it,” he said.
“That’s when they took it from any type of remorse, which they did not show, to the fact of now we’re going to play the race card, and now we’re going to politicize this.”
Metcalf also took issue with those who have defended Anthony, including The View‘s Sunny Hostin, who said she didn’t believe Anthony “had a jury of his peers” and suggested jurors shouldn’t have rejected Anthony’s claims of self-defense.
“They’re looking for their 15 minutes of fame, or their clickbait or their clicks. They’re just looking to monetize the death of my son,” Metcalf said.
“I really wish they wouldn’t speak about it at all because one, if that woman said that, she has no idea about the facts of the case, but she wants to spew her public opinion on a platform that reaches millions of people every day.”
Earlier in the interview, he said: “People had their own opinions without even seeing the facts, and that’s the part I have trouble with.”
He said: “Unfortunately, in today’s moral decay of society that we’ve witnessed, people believe that if they have their own voice, they scream loud enough, they’re right.”
What To Know About The Case
On April 2, 2025, Metcalf, a 17âyearâold Memorial High School linebacker, was fatally stabbed during a weather delay at a Frisco, Texas, track meet.
Witnesses told police that Anthony, a Centennial High School athlete, had taken shelter under Memorial’s tent and was repeatedly asked to leave. According to the arrest affidavit, Anthony warned students not to touch him and kept a hand in his backpack before Metcalf pushed him. Moments later, Anthony stabbed Metcalf once in the chest with a black folding knife, piercing his heart.
Anthony immediately surrendered, telling officers, “I was protecting myself” and asking whether Metcalf would survive. He was charged with murder, indicted, and ultimately tried as an adult under Texas law.
The jury in Collin County, Texas, rejected Anthony’s claims of self-defense. He is appealing his conviction and sentence.
Attorneys To Represent Anthony Pro Bono in Appeal
A team of attorneys announced on Monday that they will represent Anthony pro bono, review the trial record and pursue all available avenues of appeal.
According to a news release from the “Stand with Karmelo Coalition,” six leading appellate, civil rights and criminal defense attorneys are on the team: Russell Wilson, Gary Bledsoe, Michael Ware, Brooke Cluse, Sean Daredia and Justin Moore.
“Our appellate team has been retained following the conviction to conduct a fresh, independent review of the trial record,” they said in a statement.
“We recognize the profound loss suffered by one young man’s family and the uncertainty facing another, and we extend our respect to everyone whose lives have been forever changed by these events.
“Our responsibility is to determine whether a legal error occurred and to ensure that every issue supported by the record is fully and vigorously presented on appeal. The appellate process exists for precisely this purpose.”
The announcement comes after evidence from the trial was released publicly, including surveillance videos and photographs of the crime scene and weapon. The release marked the first public disclosure of the photographic and video evidence presented to the jury since cameras were not allowed in the courtroom during the trial.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Fitzpatrick, Tobias Meyjes and Tony Phillips
