All rights reserved. According to a statement posted to the UMass Athletics website, the lacrosse player died on May 30 at the age of 19. Provoked, the Black lacrosse player punched one of the teammates chanting the n-word. According to a report by the College Fix, Amherst College has suspended its men's lacrosse team through 2021 over an alleged incident that involved three players. The activist became one of the first Black models favored by European and New York designers. Amherst Athletics confirmed the report to US Lacrosse Magazine and included the letter sent to faculty, staff and students (below). var photocredit = photocredit.toUpperCase(); It is, unfortunately, only the most recent in a list of deeply troubling cases involving some team members over the years. P.O. Subject: Amherst Lacrosse? Amherst Colleges director of media communications, Caroline Hanna, responded to Mount Holyoke News on the matter. These failures have exacerbated the harm to those directly affected and to our broader community, including those alumni who experienced racism and other indignities while at Amherst. We will review whether this prohibition will continue into additional future seasons at the conclusion of the Spring 2021 season. College-age whites tend to demonstrate a prime example of said behavior judging from the numerous instances of students donning blackface on campus to attendees at college sports events who, through their excitement and pride for their schools, reveal their racism by attacking black athletes. var currentLocation = window.location; Due to a racially charged incident early this month, the team was put on probation for the 2021 season and coach Jon Thompson was fired. All we can do is continue to educate, fight against itand if need be, punch a few white people in the face. Due to a racially charged incident early this month, the team was put on probation for the 2021 season and coach Jon Thompson was fired. However, as with any group or organization on our campus, teammates are accountable to each other and, as a team, also to the larger community. document.write(new Date().getFullYear()); //var LBtag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkLBAmherstMLax-HG-032220,ph2'); Due to a racially charged incident early this month, the team was put on probation for the 2021 season and coach Jon Thompson was fired. The Amherst lacrosse coach, Jon Thompson, posted his reaction to the incident and shared the disciplinary action he would be taking. Amherst athletes are required to follow the behavioral standards set by the athletic department and the College honor code as well. The incident involved three white players from the team who chanted the N-word outside a Black teammates dorm room, as reported by the Daily Hampshire Gazette. var currentLocation = window.location; Martins letter added that the lacrosse players have been uncooperative in the investigation into the N-word incident, with players refusing to name the individual responsible for starting the racist chant. We're ignoring the very incident that caused Amherst lacrosse's current penalties. Federally mandated student privacy protections mean that those findings will not be shared. School wont discuss specifics of case, suspension. Posted a week after the school announced the sanctions against the team, Martin said college officials had identified three areas of the school in need of systemic change, including a robust policy and set of procedures for dealing with identity-based discrimination and/or harassment, a bias-reporting protocol, which has been the focus of the Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion and, when implemented, will include features of the best available models, and the development and use of restorative practices, where they are appropriate, to deal with conflict and violations.. Agostos responsibility is now focused on our COVID response, she told The Student. Brianna Kraemer - University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Womens soccer team suspended due to blackface Halloween costume, Vulgar texts prompt wrestling teams suspension, demands for expulsion, Catholic university denies group for belief in two sexes, Black Marxist scholar who supports reparations finds out she descends from slave owner, American University will not divulge race of suspect who wrote Black people suck, Dartmouth outdoor club speakers: White supremacy, domination obstruct access to nature, Powered by the Student Free Press Association. According to the Globe, players have transferred, parents have expressed outrage and recruits are wary of enrolling in the elite small private liberal arts college.. It began with a 25-15 loss at Tufts on March 7, followed by a night of commiserating at Jenkins Hall. Due to a racially charged incident early this month, the team was put on probation for the 2021 season and coach Jon Thompson was fired. CHRIS WRIGHT/CLARUS STUDIOS INC./AMHERST COLLEGE Kaminska went on to be named to the Colonial Athletic Association All-Rookie team for the 2022 season and was named to the 2022 CAA All-Tournament team, his obituary and Massachusetts athletics said. Sports Editor Over the summer, Amherst College received a wrongful termination lawsuit from former men's lacrosse Head Coach Rashad Devoe. // ]]>. The black lacrosse player then punched one of the players using the vulgar language. Participation in athletics at Amherst is a privilege, not a right, the letter reads. Its essential that we get more information and get to the bottom of what happened, Martin said. Amherst College has announced that it will suspend the entire lacrosse team through the 2021 season after three players were accused of using bigoted language during an incident. Dean of Students Liz Agosto sent an email on March 9 notifying students of an altercation between two students involving the use of racist language and subsequent physical violence. The email did not provide further details of what happened. The Jumbos jumped up to the #6 seed in NESCAC with wins over the last two weekends at Amherst (2-0) and Hamilton (2-1) and on home ice . Olivia Gieger 21 and Henry Newton 21 contributed reporting to this article. A group of alumni who were present for the 2015 Amherst Uprising, which shed light on the difficulties faced by students of color on campus, returned for a panel in the Powerhouse on Feb. 16 to discuss the lessons they drew from the Uprising and give advice to current students. Following an earthquake that has caused nearly 50,000 deaths in Turkey and Syria, The Student spoke with students from the affected region about their experiences in the aftermath of the tragedy, the colleges response, and efforts to raise relief funds. }. In short, we cannot ignore the harmful culture that exists on the mens lacrosse team, and its damage to our community.. As revealed by WBUR, According to the lawsuit, administrators pressured Devoe to reveal the identi[t]ies of three Black athletes who complained about a racist comment made by a lacrosse player, and when he refused, he was fired. The timing of the termination is cause for speculation because the refusal and removal happened around the same time. 2023 BET Interactive, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Black Entertainment Television LLC. 4 Cross Road. The letter also noted that members of the program were responsible in the past for vandalism in dorms and putting an undue burden on campus custodial services. The Student reportedly confirmed the details of the incident with five people with knowledge of the situation. The team members have also been required to take an educational course chosen by provost and dean of the faculty Catherine Epstein, athletic director Don Faulstick and the chief diversity and inclusion officer. For them to transfer somewhere else, somewhere else will have to want them. Sign up to receive The Atlanta Black Star Newsletter in your inbox. School officials would not answer repeated requests for comment. MORE: Womens soccer team suspended due to blackface Halloween costume, MORE: Vulgar texts prompt wrestling teams suspension, demands for expulsion, Like The College Fix on Facebook / Follow us on Twitter. Following the incident, Dean Epstein sent a letter to the Amherst College community pointing out that this was actually only one of several incidents of bigoted or otherwise unruly behavior surrounding the team, including transphobia aimed at staff members and vandalism in dorms. Reached via email, campus spokeswoman Caroline Hanna directed The College Fix to a message from President Biddy Martin. Mar 17 (Fri) 11 AM. We realize that not every student on the mens lacrosse team has actively participated in the violations that have come to light, the letter continued. Amherst athletes are required to follow thebehavioral standards set by the athletic departmentand the College honor code as well. tag_id.innerHTML = ''; Milford, NH 03055. The Black Students Union dedicated its meeting on Tuesday night to discussing the incident. After an investigation into Devoe verbally mistreating players who had broken the school's COVID-19 rules . Aidan Kaminska was a sophomore majoring in communications and was a midfielder on the Minutemen lacrosse team, according to his obituary. Those cases include sharing photos of a teammate with a swastika drawn on his face who had passed out at a party, and GroupMe exchanges denigrating and ridiculing gender-nonconforming and trans staff. The Amherst Student, however, originally reported the players had "chanted" the n-word and described the incident as "racist." #IntegrateAmherst Amherst suspended the 50-member team in March. var currentheadline = document.getElementById("headline").innerText; I dont believe anyone will face consequences until the facts are known., The incident, it appears, risks becoming swept under the rug in light of recent events involving COVID-19 and major changes to the structure of the campus. According to the Boston Globe, Devoe was fired one year into his three-year contract because he "verbally mistreated" the lacrosse athletes. According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Amherst College has placed its mens lacrosse program on probation canceling its 2020 postseason along with all formal team gatherings until November following an incident first reported by the Amherst Student earlier this month. Breaking Campus News. According to Inside Lacrosse, Amherst president Biddy Martin, athletic director Don Faulstick and dean of faculty Catherine Epstein described as a list of deeply troubling cases.. However, as with any group or organization on our campus, teammates are accountable to each other and, as a team, also to the larger community. Amherst athletics is among the oldest and most prestigious athletic programs in the country, the letter concluded. Some students allegedly chanted the N-word outside a black players dorm on March 7, according to the Amherst Student newspaper. He will sorely be missed," the obituary says. It marked the second reported bias incident involving the mens lacrosse team within the past year. Elon Musk Says Media Is Racist Against White People In Defense Of Dilbert Cartoonists Rant. This includes, but is not limited to, captains practices and team-bonding activities. The team over recent years has been responsible for other violations, including vandalism in the dorms, overtaxing our custodial and facilities staff, and at times creating unsafe conditions. Amherst athletics is among the oldest and most prestigious athletic programs in the country. We stand ready to help guide and support the work of transforming the mens lacrosse program and to continue the work of ensuring that all our students have full access to the intellectual, social, and co-curricular opportunities Amherst offers.. Before we do, we acknowledge that our decisions come at an extremely difficult time when we are all faced with the rapid spread and heartbreaking impact of the COVID-19 virus. He had played on a number of travel lacrosse teams, including Legacy Lacrosse, of which he was a member of the championship team that won the World Series of Youth Lacrosse in 2016. A.L.A. However, as with any group or organization on our campus, teammates are accountable to each other and, as a team, also to the larger community. AMHERST The former head coach of the Amherst College men's lacrosse team has filed a federal lawsuit claiming that school officials discriminated against him, and ultimately fired him, "on the basis of his race." . The singer-songwriter has a musical career spanning over two decades. According toAmherst Student, the incident occured on March 7 on the campus of the Massachusetts' college. (AP) Amherst College has placed its men's lacrosse team on probation and is firing the team's coach following complaints that players used a racial slur.. The lawsuit alleges that there was more to Devoes removal than was officially communicated by the school. In short, we cannot ignore the harmful culture that exists on the mens lacrosse team, and its damage to our community. In a letter to the Amherst College community signed by President Biddy Martin, Catherine Epstein, provost and dean of the faculty, and athleticdirector Don Faulstick, the school pointed out that the incident was just the latest in a pattern of troubling behavior surrounding the program. Student Affairs, however, is working with Amherst College Police Department and talking with the students involved so we can manage impact., That doesnt stop just because weve made this announcement [to send students home], Agosto said. Fri Mar 20 2020 | Kenny DeJohn | College The Globe also noted that Devoe said he reported the alleged discrimination but school officials declined to assure him they would protect him and the students from retaliation and continued discrimination.. Amherst defeated Park by the score of 8-5. In addition to lacrosse and football, Kaminska loved baby animals, especially ducklings and bunnies. Following an incident two weeks ago involving the use of a racial slur by members of the Amherst mens lacrosse team originally reported by the schools newspaper, The Amherst Student, the university has reportedly fired head coach Jon Thompson and banned the team from competing in the 2021 postseason. The Massachusetts college published a letter on March 20 explaining the decision. Catherine EpsteinProvost and Dean of the Faculty. Findings of individual responsibility for violating the Honor Code lie with the disciplinary process in the Office of Student Affairs. 2023 NAACP Image Awards: Get Familiar with Gospel Veteran Erica Campbell. History. He is survived by his parents, Glenn and Lydia, an older brother, Connor, and other relatives, it says. 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