Columbia suspends members of wrestling team over lewd texts
Columbia University has suspended members of its wrestling team for the rest of the season after investigating lewd text messages apparently sent by wrestlers.
Reports surfaced online about the messages, which the school described the text messages as "appalling, at odds with the core values of the university, and violate team guidelines." Columbia announced the discipline Saturday: not every wrestler has been punished, but some will miss the semester and some the rest of this season as punishment.
Bwog, an independent, student-run blog, published screenshots of the messages last Friday.
The blog said that the messages spanned from 2014 to most recently with the messages mocking "women’s appearances, make jokes about rape, use homophobic and racist slurs, and engage in other distasteful interactions."
The remaining members of the team will be allowed to compete in the New York State Championships in Ithaca, N.Y. this weekend.
Earlier this month, Harvard suspended its men's soccer team for the rest of the season after it was discovered that members of the team had been writing “scouting reports” rating the attractiveness players on the women's soccer team and making offensive comments of a sexual nature.
