By: Haley Hersey, News Editor
On February 17, the University of Southern Maine Athletics Department issued a statement about an incident that they said “violates our code of ethics and is antithetical to our program’s values, mission and goals.”
Director of Athletics, Al Bean, said in a phone interview that the action is “certainly not keeping with what any of us would find appropriate.”
Bean said the incident was a short video that had been posted to social media in which someone not in the athletics program made a statement, but there was a member of the department present in the video. The video was reported and taken down.
The department’s statement on social media included, “The incident is being investigated, evaluated and appropriate action will be taken. As a department, we are working with University officials to ensure that our students affected by this action are safe, aware of available resources and provided opportunities for support.”
According to Bean, the situation was posted on social media on Monday at an off-campus residence and they did not believe the person who made the statement was a student.
He also said they were in the process of working with USM’s Assistant Provost for Student Affairs and Deputy Title IX Coordinator, Dr. Sarah Holmes, along with the Bias Response Team, Student-Athlete Diversity, Inclusion & Equity Committee and the USM Athletics Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Board.
“We found it inappropriate and are dealing with it the best we can,” said Bean.
What was said in the video, though?