College swimming team comment after member carves racial slur into another's chest

The Gettysburg College swim team is speaking out after an incident earlier this month in which one of its members carved a racial slur into another's chest, saying the incident “does not reflect our values ​​or who we are.”

In a statement posted on the college's athletic website, the team said it felt compelled to address the situation directly because of some belief that the organization or the culture within it was “complicit in the racist incident.”

“This couldn’t be further from the truth,” the statement said. “We know the character of this team. We believe in our team. Sitting in silence while our reputations were unfairly tarnished was torture. It hurt deeply to see something we love so much being falsely associated with something so vile.”

PREVIOUS COVERAGE | According to the school, a student used a box cutter to carve a racial slur into his teammate's chest

The incident was first made public last week when Gettysburg College President Bob Iuliano sent a campus-wide email saying two students had been suspended from the swim team after their captains reported the incident to the school , which launched an investigation into the swim team's unofficial social gathering that took place Sept. 6 in an on-campus residence hall.

The campus newspaper The Gettysburgian spoke with the victim's family, who said their son was the only person of color at the gathering when another teammate he “trusted” carved the “N-word” into his chest with a box cutter . They told the newspaper their son was the victim of a “hate crime” and has since been “isolated” by many in his college community.

“He did not choose the color of his skin tone, but rather chose to embrace the strength and diversity he represents,” their statement said. “Our son did not choose to be shunned and isolated at the behest of some who advocate for inclusion and diversity.”

On Sunday, Anne Ehrlich, vice president for college life, sent a campus-wide email saying the perpetrator was no longer enrolled at Gettysburg College and said the school's investigation was “near completion.” She also said discussions had begun with the victim's family about “how to move forward most constructively,” fulfilling a promise the school made to her family at the end of its investigation.

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Iuliano then sent another email on Monday in which he said the community must “acknowledge the harm” the incident has caused to those “long-standing in our society through language and actions just like the ones that took place.” have been pushed to the margins”. He also confirmed that the incident was not a “byproduct of an unhealthy sports team culture or a reflection of the team itself,” citing the captains' willingness to report the incident.

The swim team highlighted that quote in its statement, emphasizing that the gathering was “not a team-sanctioned event,” “no intimidation occurred,” and “was not endorsed by our team.” It again praised the captains who spoke out and the school officials who took action, saying they are all “united in condemning the actions that took place.”

“In a few weeks we will return to the pool with determination as always,” the statement concluded. “We will represent this college with pride, both in and out of the water. We will emerge from this as a stronger, more unified team, and as many others have said, our campus has the potential to become a stronger institution as a result.”

Although the victim's family has acknowledged that they have the right to pursue criminal charges in this matter, they have so far only sought redress through complaints to the NAACP Harrisburg Chapter, the NAACP Pennsylvania Conference, and the Pennsylvania Commission on Human Relations , in which they each invoke racial discrimination. Harassment and lack of due process.