Stephen A. Smith holds the view that the context of race and the historical legacy of the state of Mississippi contribute to a justified level of suspicion surrounding the case.

“I don't know whether that's wrong or not because to be quite honest with you, black kid is dead after going around going out with white dudes. Yeah, I got a problem with that. That picture don't look right, particularly in the state of Mississippi.”

Officer Tatum argues that race should not be injected into this case because it leads to unfair accusations against the white friends involved without evidence.

“I just think that the race should never be interjected. Nolan's friends told me and they and they proved to me that they were really close to him and they were some of his best friends. They said Nolan would have been incredibly upset at the way people are framing his death and going after his frien”

Charles F. Coleman Jr. argues that racial history in Mississippi makes it impossible to summarily dismiss the role race might play in the public perception of the case.

“I don't necessarily know that the the initial statements about Nolan being with some of his white friends is entirely uh afactual. I also don't know that it is a nefarious statement in as much as these are facts. He was with a number of different white boys or number of different boys who are white.”