The University of Maryland, College Park’s club tennis team has apologized after players distributed racist programming material ahead of a tournament on campus.
“Last weekend, our club shared an abhorrent image which was included in a tournament program and was distributed to teams from visiting universities,” Maryland Club Tennis wrote on Instagram. “We deeply regret sharing this image and the pain this caused as a result of our actions.”
The statement continued, “Although we did not intend to share an image evoking hate and racism, we take full responsibility for failing to identify and remove it. We understand this was unacceptable and does not reflect the values of our club.”
The apology follows a call by Howard University’s president and club tennis team for accountability in an investigation into the racist graphic shared by Maryland Club Tennis.
“The imagery evoked a painful history of racial terror and exclusion that has no place in an environment dedicated to learning, personal development and mutual respect,” Howard University President Wayne A.I. Frederick wrote in a message to the historically Black college’s community Monday night. “Our students should never have to question whether they will be treated with dignity and respect when representing our university.”
The University of Maryland, College Park’s club tennis team was suspended indefinitely, the university announced Monday. A graphic in a Google document emailed to other college tennis clubs depicted the Maryland state flag with Ku Klux Klan pointed hoods in the top right and lower left quadrants, replacing the red-and-white Crossland coat of arms.
The Canada-based graphic illustrator who created the image said he was “horrified” at the way it was used, noting he’d produced it for a blog post examining the Confederate symbols in the Maryland state flag.
Rebecca Aloisi, senior director for university communications, wrote in a statement Monday that UMD “is horrified and expresses its regret and sincere apology for the harm that this has caused.”
Maryland Club Tennis said in its statement Wednesday that, while it had met with visiting teams to apologize in person and emailed team captains, “a public apology is warranted when the impact of our actions extends beyond those who received the tournament program directly.”
The club tennis team said it was committed “to engaging in education and training about the history and impact of racism and hate symbols.”
Toward that end and in response to a call from the Howard University Club, Maryland Club Tennis said it had made a donation to the National Museum of African American History and Culture reflecting its “commitment to taking steps to begin repairing the harm we have caused.”
Banner reporter Ellie Wolfe contributed to this article.
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