The Coastal Carolina University cheerleaders have been suspended indefinitely. There have been anonymous allegations of the team members committing prostitution, buying alcohol for underage team members, and paying others to complete homework assignments.
On Wednesday night, a CCU Department of Public Safety investigator came to the cheerleading team's practice and explained that an anonymous letter was mailed to the school president David DeCenzo on March 7.
A Horry County Police officer met the team outside the HTC Center after practice and called the names of some team members. They were taken to CCU's police station for questioning. The cheerleader said the police searched through their cell phones and then they were told they could leave around 11 p.m.
There's currently no incident reports about the conduct investigation said CCU Vice President of Communications William M. Plate Jr. The CCU has removed individual pictures of members of the squad from its website. It now directs to the school's Spirit Team page.
According to WYFF4 News the HTC Center confirmed that a cheerleading showcase on April 4 has also been removed from the center's schedule for the week. The showcase was intended for the team's scheduled appearance in Daytona Beach, Florida for a national competition.
Officials of the national competition said the team was still registered and paid in full. They have not heard or received any notice that the team will not be coming. The team raised money for their own travel expenses to the competition and said they were upset they wouldn't be able to go.
Horry County Police said that they are not involved in the investigation at this time. WMBF News tried to reach out to the Athletic Director Matt Hogue, Martha Hunn, Associate Vice President of Communications, and the CCU Department of Public Safety for more information. They have also sent a letter to DeCenzo through a Freedom of Information Act request, which the school's FOIA office had denied due to a pending investigation.
