School officials associated with a predominately white college accused by Virginia State, an HBCU, of racism during a women’s soccer game said they found no evidence of it occurring during an investigation into the claim.
Guilford College officials said its probe revealed that students made what were described as “unsportsmanlike” comments during a women’s soccer game against Virginia State University on Sept. 26.
Guilford College President Kyle Farmbry on Sept. 27 issued an apology to Virginia State over allegations that racial slurs were yelled at its players during the game.
Athletics director Bill Foti and Dean of Students Steve Mencarini conducted an investigation into the incident that involved 30 Guilford athletics staff members, non-athletics staff members, students, and parents who were at the soccer match, the school said.
The investigation uncovered that a group of 14 students at the game were responsible for heckling and other remarks shouted toward VSU players, though the nature of the comments were not disclosed.
Three students were brought up on student conduct disciplinary action for heckling, and one student was held out of an athletic contest for violation of the school’s athletic code of conduct, Guilford officials said.
In a statement, Guilford said, “the investigation did not discover any evidence that racist remarks were directed by Guilford fans toward VSU players. However, the fact that VSU supporters found the environment to be extremely unwelcoming for their players is of deep concern to the College and resulted in action that has been taken.”
