CHARLOTTESVILLE (WINA) – As the UVa Board of Visitors wrapped up its first three-day meeting with an afternoon session Friday in the Rotunda with the new Governor Youngkin appointees, the most controversial issued an apology. Hilton Head, SC resident Bert Ellis called himself “the elephant in the room” as he spoke before the board took up the afternoon agenda.

“May I once again offer my apologies to my colleagues,” Ellis asked the board and administrators present in the room.

He said while those private and confidential messages, they were still “out of place”. He said he’s emotional and had not expected his remarks to end up on the front page of The Washington Post.

“I have learned my lesson about FOIA, but I can’t put the genie back in the bottle… so all I can say is ‘I’m sorry'”, Ellis said.

The texts said he would be “in a battle royale for the soul of UVa”, and need “to build this into a big army to fight against the UVa Adm and also unfortunately to fight against the UVa Alumni Association. Another text summed up College Democrats and the Student Council as “numnuts”.