SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Samuel Jackson’s debut on Monday night as Notre Dame’s primary football mascot sparked enough social media backlash that he felt compelled to respond.

Jackson and fellow mascot Lynnette Wukie are the second and third African Americans chosen to wear the school’s iconic leprechaun outfit. Wukie, the school’s first female mascot, wasn’t on the field at Cardinal Stadium for the season-opening 35-17 win over Louisville.

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Less than an hour into Monday’s ESPN telecast, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy weighed in on Jackson’s debut via Twitter:

Portnoy’s post included a photo of Jackson in the green jacket-and-top-hat ensemble along with three white leprechaun mascots, including holdover Conal Fagan, who is from Northern Ireland and primarily works women’s basketball games.

Numerous other racially motivated responses were posted on Twitter.

Jackson responded with his own post late Tuesday on his Twitter account:

Jackson, who is from Alabama, added a winking emoji and a shamrock to his post.

Jackson has participated in nine theatrical productions at Notre Dame and considers himself “a walking pep rally."He met the school's first African-American mascot, Mike Brown, who graduated in 2001, in the spring of 2018. Brown shared his experience in the mascot role with Jackson.

“He encouraged me to go for it,” Jackson said during the Notre Dame Day broadcast in April. “When I finished talking with him, that vision I had of seeing myself on the field transformed from a vision to something that could be palpable.”

Brown works for Notre Dame as a regional director for athletics advancement.

The first leprechaun mascot debuted at Notre Dame in 1965. Previously the school used Irish terrier dogs.

Follow Mike Berardino on Twitter @MikeBerardino