The University of Maryland club tennis team has been suspended indefinitely after it included a racist graphic in a weekend tournament program in College Park, the school said in a statement.
According to the statement from UMD Recreation and Wellness, the school learned that the team handed out materials with “a graphic containing racist imagery targeting people who are Black or African American.”
“They emailed this information to other university tennis clubs in the region about this weekend’s fall tournament at College Park,” the statement said.
The UMD statement noted that the incident may have involved only a few team members but that the school still chose to suspend the entire team until the Office of Student Conduct completes its investigation.
The matter has also been referred to the University of Maryland Police Department, the school said. The police department confirmed that it is conducting an investigation but declined to provide more information.
The UMD Office of Student Conduct did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“The University of Maryland is horrified and expresses its regret and sincere apology for the harm that this has caused,” the school said in the statement.
The tennis team forfeited its matches in the tournament, which continued for all other participating teams.
Leaders of the UMD club tennis team apologized to other team captains and took responsibility for sending the racist graphics, the statement said. Each invited team also received an apology email from the UMD tennis team.
UMD was on-site to support the visiting teams and sent an apology email to the recreation directors at the affected schools, as well as the presidents of the participating teams.
One of those presidents was Toni Rachal, who represents the club tennis team at Howard University, a historically Black school.
In a statement posted to its Instagram account, the Howard team said Rachal noticed the graphic in a shared Google Doc emailed to participating teams.
The graphic contained “a recognizable symbol associated with the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) on the first page” below the UMD club tennis logo, the statement said.
“KKK pointed hood masks complete with eye holes appear in the top right and lower left quadrants, replacing the Crossland coat of arms of the official Maryland state flag,” the statement described. “The imagery is a recognizable symbol of white supremacy, organized hate, and violence.”
Members of Howard’s team said they confronted the Maryland team about the graphic to raise concerns. Despite the team being suspended and investigated, Howard’s team said, “True accountability has yet to come.”
Howard’s team is asking both UMD and the school’s club tennis executive board to issue public apologies to Howard University and its team, conduct a formal investigation into who created the document, and provide sensitivity training for the school’s team leaders and advisers.
The Howard team is also asking that the funds from the weekend tournament be donated to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
“There is no place for racism, intimidation, or imagery rooted in hatred and racial violence in collegiate athletics, on our campuses, or anywhere in our society,” Wayne A. I. Frederick, Howard University interim president and president emeritus, said in a statement.
He added that he appreciated UMD President Darryll J. Pines for his immediate concern and said Howard is there to support all students who participated in the tournament.
The Black Student Union at UMD said in a statement posted to its Instagram that the vice president of student affairs reached out to the group directly after the incident.
The group thanked the university for its quick response but added, “We know administrative actions alone cannot undo the emotional impact inflicted upon Black students, especially when added to a broader societal climate where racial tension is already a constant weight.”
It asked the university to “commit to long-term systemic accountability and active harm restoration, ensuring that the impact on Black students is addressed directly, transparently, and with immediate urgency.”
SOURCE: nbcnews.com