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." . wonder if that played a role in giving these kids an aura of invincibility. Amherst College president Biddy Martin announced the school has placed its men's lacrosse team on probation through June 30, 2021 following an incident two weeks ago in which members of the team . Miles Cosgrove has been fighting for his job back. NESCAC. Amherst College in Massachusetts has fired its men's lacrosse coach and put the entire team on probation because of a string of horrifying racist incidents. 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. Amherst athletes are required to follow the behavioral standards set by the athletic department and the College honor code as well. The squabble was first reported by student-run paper The Amherst Student earlier this month. A team culture that repeatedly violates standards of human decency and then protects those who have perpetuated these violations is not a culture acceptable at Amherst, Martin said. Copyright 2023 The College Fix, all rights reserved. AMHERST, Mass. Descendents of British Slave Trading Architects Offer Reparations Compensation to University. 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, according to the Boston Globe. Amherst College is remaining largely silent regarding questions related to the suspension of its men's lacrosse team through the 2021 season, a decision the school said was in response to. In high school, Kaminska was a captain on both the boys' football and lacrosse teams, his obituary states. It is not tolerable to have a racist slur used against anyone. CHRIS WRIGHT/CLARUS STUDIOS INC./AMHERST COLLEGE Our athletes can and must reflect the best of Amherst, holding themselves to the high standards we expect of our community in all its endeavors. The camp is for boys in the classes of 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. . Last spring, The Student reported on an incident that took place at a December 2018 mens lacrosse party during which a swastika was drawn on an unconscious students forehead and then circulated on mens lacrosse players social media. All rights reserved. Amherst athletics is among the oldest and most prestigious athletic programs in the country, the letter concluded. //LBtag_id.innerHTML = ''; Photo: Obituary. 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. 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. 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 letter described several other incidents that led to a decision of this nature. // -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring2) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring3) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring4) > -1) { A racist incident at Amherst College has led to a year-long probation for the schools nationally ranked mens lacrosse team and the firing of head coach John Thompson, the Daily Hampshire Gazette reports. var sellablestring2 = "STAFF PHOTO"; Hanna highlighted Amherst Colleges values, which are [promoting] diversity, inclusion, and respect, adding, We have a majority minority student body, an increasingly diverse faculty and staff and a community dedicated to the work of inclusion We are confident that a full legal review of the complaint will support our position that it is without merit., WBUR stated that Devoes intention with the lawsuit is to regain his position at Amherst College, in which he made $90,000 a year, as well as financial damages. It began with a 25-15 loss at Tufts on March 7, followed by a night of commiserating at Jenkins Hall. Apparently, members of the team, the Mammoths, chanted nigger at a black team member who then punched one of his teammates for the offense. '"; Elon Musk Says Media Is Racist Against White People In Defense Of Dilbert Cartoonists Rant. The team has also been responsible, in previous years, of vandalizing dorms and putting undue stress on custodial and facilities staff at the Massachusetts campus. After beating Salisbury, the Generals are rising the rankings fast. 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. What makes these matters worse is the failure of those involved to own up to their behavior and the failure of teammates to identify who was at fault. Sweet Briar Lacrosse Team was presented with a plaque and flowers after a home game February 22, 2023, for their efforts in raising money for the Amherst County Special Olympics. This is the second publicly-addressed hate incident within the last year that has involved mens lacrosse players. Need even more lacrosse information? Federally mandated student privacy protections mean that those findings will not be shared. the team has been near the top of the D3 rankings for the past few yrs and even won a title. On Tuesday, Jan. 31, under the leadership of its new director Siddhartha V. Shah, the Mead Art Museum opened its doors to the general public for the first time in nearly three years. Published on June 2, 2022 10:54 PM. We will review whether this prohibition will continue into additional future seasons at the conclusion of the Spring 2021 season. According to its report, members of the mens lacrosse team chanted the n-word at a black lacrosse player, who then punched one of his teammates who was using the term. 1995 saw the team grow as they went 7-9, losing four games by a goal. A.L.A. According to the Boston Globe, Devoe was fired one year into his three-year contract because he "verbally mistreated" the lacrosse athletes. Participation in athletics at Amherst is a privilege, not a right. In addition to lacrosse and football, Kaminska loved baby animals, especially ducklings and bunnies. Amherst athletes are required to follow the behavioral standards set by the athletic department and the College honor code as well.. That may have been a reference to the firing of lacrosse coach Jon Thompson, who was dismissed by the school last month. var sellablestring3 = "STAFF FILE PHOTO"; In December of 2018, a swastika was drawn on an unconscious students forehead at a mens lacrosse party. According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Amherst College has placed its men's lacrosse program on probation canceling its 2020 postseason along with all formal team gatherings until November. According to Amherst Student, the incident occured on March 7 on the campus of the Massachusetts' college. In this letter we outline and explain the decisions we have now made in response to the incident. 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. The Atlanta producer discusses his new single, debut album and fondest memories of Takeoff. An early-morning dustup ensued, and one of the combatants was Black. We write with an update about the steps the College is taking to address problems with the culture and actions of the mens lacrosse team. The camp is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged of the lacrosse athletes ' ;... 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