Amherst College has suspended its men’s lacrosse team and terminated team coach Jon Thompson following what it said was a racial incident involving team members, reported The Boston Globe.
The college sent a letter Friday to students, faculty and staff addressing its investigation into an alleged incident “that occurred nearly two weeks ago [that] involved the use by some members of the lacrosse team of racist, harassing speech.”
Amherst men’s lacrosse coach Jon Thompson.Amherst Student, the college newspaper, said the alleged incident occurred March 7 outside a player’s dormitory room.
In the letter, the college also mentioned past “deeply troubling cases” involving members of the Amherst men’s lacrosse team.
“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 letter said.
