Princeton Swim Team Suspended For 'Misogynistic And Racist' Emails

"The behavior that we have learned about is simply unacceptable," the school's athletic director said.
Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey.
Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey.
Danita Delimont via Getty Images

You can now add Princeton’s swim team to the growing list of college sports teams that have had sexist and offensive email chains come to light in the past few months.

The men’s swimming and diving team at Princeton University was suspended for the foreseeable future on Thursday due to “vulgar and offensive, as well as misogynistic and racist” email chains, according to a statement made by the university Thursday night. The suspension came after the school received an anonymous tip that there were “several materials” on the swimming and diving team’s electronic listserv the university would find concerning.

Although the specific comments in the email chains have not been made public, university spokesperson John D. Cramer confirmed to The New York Times that the offensive remarks were directed at the women’s swimming and diving team.

Director of Athletics Mollie Marcoux Samaan reprimanded the men’s swimming and diving team’s behavior in the school’s statement:

We make clear to all of our student-athletes that they represent Princeton University at all times, on and off the playing surface and in and out of season, and we expect appropriate, respectful conduct from them at all times. The behavior that we have learned about is simply unacceptable. It is antithetical to the values of our athletic program and of the University, and will not be tolerated.

As of now the team is suspended for two remaining meets in January and February of 2017.

Princeton’s swim team suspension is the latest in a string of offensive and misogynistic email chains from sports teams that have led to suspended or cancelled seasons.

On Dec. 11, Amherst’s men’s cross-country team was suspended for emails that contained misogynistic, racist and generally lewd comments about women on campus. In October, the Harvard Crimson found that the 2012 men’s soccer team had created a sexually explicit “scouting report” of the women’s team. A few days after the story broke, the remainder of the Harvard men’s team’s season was cancelled.

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