Article snippet: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) denied Saturday he had any prior knowledge of a racist picture that appeared on his medical school yearbook page and rejected bipartisan calls for his resignation. “I am not and will not excuse the content of the photo. It was offensive, racist and despicable. When my staff showed me the photo in question yesterday, I was seeing it for the first time. I did not purchase the [Eastern Virginia Medical School] yearbook and I was unaware of what was on my page,” Northam said at a press conference. “When I was confronted with the images yesterday, I was appalled that they appeared on my page, but I believed then and now that I am not either of the people in that photo.” The scandal erupted Friday after The Virginian-Pilot released a photo from the 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook showing a man wearing blackface and another dressed in a Ku Klux Klan robe. Northam apologized for the picture Friday and appeared to acknowledge he was one of the two people seen. “I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now,” Northam said in a statement. “This behavior is not in keeping with who I am today and the values I have fought for throughout my career in the military, in medicine, and in public service. But I want to be clear, I understand how this decision shakes Virginians’ faith in that commitment.” The photo’s release sparked a cavalcade of bipartisan ... Link to the full article to read more