University of Maryland Club Tennis Team Suspended After Sharing Racist Imagery

The University of Maryland club tennis team has been suspended indefinitely after it included a racist graphic in a weekend tournament program in College Park, the school said in a statement.

According to the statement from UMD Recreation and Wellness, the school learned that the team handed out materials with “a graphic containing racist imagery targeting people who are Black or African American.”

“They emailed this information to other university tennis clubs in the region about this weekend’s fall tournament at College Park,” the statement said.

The UMD statement noted that the incident may have involved only a few team members but that the school still chose to suspend the entire team until the Office of Student Conduct completes its investigation.

The matter has also been referred to the University of Maryland Police Department, the school said. {snip}

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Leaders of the UMD club tennis team apologized to other team captains and took responsibility for sending the racist graphics, the statement said. Each invited team also received an apology email from the UMD tennis team.

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The graphic contained “a recognizable symbol associated with the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) on the first page” below the UMD club tennis logo, the statement said.

“KKK pointed hood masks complete with eye holes appear in the top right and lower left quadrants, replacing the Crossland coat of arms of the official Maryland state flag,” the statement described. “The imagery is a recognizable symbol of white supremacy, organized hate, and violence.”

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