Amherst College President Carolyn “Biddy” Martin could not have found more appropriate adjectives to describe the misogynistic, homophobic and racist email and social media exchanges that resulted in the disciplining of former and current members of the men’s cross-country team.
“Appalling … vulgar … cruel … and hateful,” were the words Martin used to express the disappointment and anger she felt after learning of the exchanges, and of the “toxic culture” student-athletes described within the team.
A college investigation that ended this month corroborated a December report in The Indicator, a student-run commentary magazine, that members of the men’s cross-country team had sent messages that contained derogatory comments toward women and racial minorities, including fellow students.
The probe found that new students were encouraged to participate in exchanging offensive messages as part of their introduction to the team, and that there were varying levels of involvement by team members between June 2013 and August 2015. The investigation concluded that several members of the men’s cross-country team “engaged in the most active and problematic roles,” while others were less active or not active at all.
“Some stood up to teammates with objections to the content of the messages, but no one reported the problems to the coaches, Director of Athletics, or the Office of Student Affairs,” according to the investigation. This finding is particularly troubling given the mandatory sexual awareness and bystander training these athletes are to receive, according to the college’s student-athlete handbook.
We applaud Martin and the college for being transparent and acting swiftly after learning of the troubling email and social media exchanges, including promptly informing the college community and hiring outside investigator and former state Supreme Judicial Court justice John M. Greaney to assist with its probe. We also commend Athletic Director Donald Faulstick for immediately notifying Martin of the situation the day he learned about it from the student-run publication.
In less than a month, the college conducted its review and meted out disciplinary actions that seem fair and stern enough to send a strong message that such conduct will not be tolerated. Faulstick said the content of the messages — which the student publication said included detailing the sexual histories of students, referring to women as “meat slabs” and denigrating people of Asian and African descent — flagrantly violate Amherst College’s principles and most basic forms of decency and respect, and “they have no place on our sports teams or anywhere at our college.”
Suspensions from the teams for the students range from three contests to the duration of an athlete’s enrollment. The discipline calls for those involved to meet with the dean of conduct to discuss redressing harm to the individuals and groups they targeted, the broader community and their fellow team members.
The team will be on athletic probation for four semesters through the fall of 2018, and all cross-country team members, except those who enrolled in the fall 2016 or spring 2017, were suspended from two indoor track meets. Every cross-country runner except one also competes for the indoor track team.
Attending an elite institution like Amherst College and representing the college as a student-athlete is a privilege that comes with many responsibilities, not the least of which is treating one’s peers and the entire campus community with respect.
Rather than enriching the campus with a commitment to athletic excellence and honorable personal conduct, the student-athletes’ insensitive and cruel online exchanges over a span of more than two years tarred their college experience but also the athletic program and broader campus community.
The college appears to be doing its best to educate the student-athletes involved, and we hope that goes a long way toward reforming their behavior and helping them, as the college’s mission statement reads, “lead principled lives of consequence.”