Washington University in St. Louis has suspended its men's soccer team. This comes after the players were slammed with misconduct complaints by the women's team.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the men's soccer team was said to have thrown sexually explicit comments as well as other inappropriate behavior toward the women's soccer team. This led to their indefinite suspension.
Members of the women's soccer team voiced their complaint to administrators on Wednesday. The suspension was announced on Friday. It was noted that the comments made toward the members of the women's team were "degrading and sexually explicit." The comments are found in an online document from 2015.
"We are saddened and deeply troubled by these allegations and are taking them very seriously," Lori S. White, vice chancellor for student affairs, said in a statement. "Let me be clear: There is absolutely no place at Washington University for sexism, discrimination or harassment of any kind."
White added that the alleged behavior of the men's soccer team is opposite to the university's core values of community support, diversity and inclusion. She added that the school is committed to conduct a "timely and thorough investigation" on the issue.
Provost Holden Thorp encouraged the school community to respect the investigative process and carefully review the results once they become available. He believes that the allegations indicate "an unacceptable culture" within the men's soccer program.
According to TIME, Washington University in St. Louis is the latest institution to suspend athletic teams over offensive comments. Ivy League institutions such as Princeton and Harvard, as well as Columbia and Amherst, have recently suspended athletic teams over the same issues.
It was previously reported that the University of Minnesota football team stopped going to practices to protest the suspension of 10 teammates who were accused of sexual assault. The athletes threatened to boycott an upcoming game if the suspension is not revoked.
