Critics are calling out Karl Reid — the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's new vice president for equity and inclusion — over comments he made on social media Sunday that critics are calling‚ among other things‚ &;quot;race baiting.&;quot; Here's the post: — (@) &;quot;Just boarded an early morning flight wearing my @MIT gear. A seat mate looked at me and asked‚ 'Basketball&;#63;' I said‚ 'No. Engineering&;#33;' What about me prompted him to think I was playing or coaching basketball&;#63;&;quot; Reid asked in his post‚ which was accompanied by a what appears to be a selfie aboard the plane. Reid's post has received‚ as of Monday afternoon‚ 7.7 million views‚ 29‚000 likes‚ and 14‚000 comments. A good number of them‚ upon a cursory glance‚ didn't appear all that positive: — (@) Image source: XReid did converse with some commenters. Here's one of those exchanges: Image source: XHere are a few other comments directed at Reid's post:&;quot;Maybe he was an MIT basketball fan and was looking for a commonality to start a conversation‚&;quot; another commenter wrote. &;quot;Nice try on the racebait though.&;quot;&;quot;Bro‚ are you a musical instrument&;#63; Because you played yourself‚&;quot; another user said.'It's good to immediately accuse people who are being friendly with you of racism‚&;quot; another commenter quipped. &;quot;Must be exhausting.&;quot;&;quot;They may have been trying to start a conversation with a harmless question… Then you interpreted 'That’s racist&;#33;' from it‚&;quot; another user noted. &;quot;Yes. That’s on you.&;quot;&;quot;This is why no one wants to talk to anyone lol‚&;quot; another commenter concluded.&;quot;[Because] March madness just happened‚ and it looks like an athletic fit&;#63; Nice try with the race bait though‚&;quot; another user wrote. &;quot;God forbid someone tries to find commonalities with a stranger.&;quot;Anything else&;#63; MIT named Reid vice president for equity and inclusion in January‚ according to the school's website. Here's Reid speaking at a recent MIT event: Karl Reid presents lifetime achievement award to Clarence Williams at 50 anniversary MLK Celebration youtu.be (H/T: Not the Bee) Like Blaze News&;#63; Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here&;#33;