Sports
Racist language at match upsets campus
By Caitlin O'Connor '14, Sports Editor
November 3, 2011
Last Friday, an unexpected email popped up in student inboxes across campus. Although the men’s soccer team had ended its regular season on a high note on its home turf, the sweet victory was soured by a fan’s inappropriate comments.
During the match versus Tufts University on Oct. 22, racially offensive remarks were directed towards several Tufts student-athletes. While the identity and number of students who made the comments is still unknown, it has been confirmed that they were rude, offensive racial comments directed at students of both Hispanic and Japanese origin.
A student-athlete participant in the game came forward and wrote a letter to the Hamilton Administration reporting the incident. These allegations were then confirmed by several fans that were in attendance, along with one Hamilton student who approached the harasser to discourage them from continuing to make racial remarks.
When asked about the incident, Men’s Soccer Coach Perry Nizzi claimed, “All I know is it had nothing to do with the players on the field,” as exemplified by their impressive 2-1 win over No. 5 Tufts. “It seemed to be isolated to one, possibly two people who made comments from the sideline. As happens in most situation like this one, there are hundreds of people and a very few have to ruin it.”
In the campus-wide email sent out last weekend notifying the student body of the episode, Athletics Director Jon Hind ’80 reminded students of the rules of conduct that all members of the Hamilton community are expected to adhere to, no matter the venue or situation. He also recanted the NCAA statement that is announced at the beginning of every home athletic event for Hamilton College, which allows removal from the grounds of competition if inappropriate remarks, intimidating actions or alcohol are involved.
Due to the popularity of sporting events for students, parents, faculty and alumni, many areas of the Hamilton Administration were concerned about the impacts the remark would have on the greater community.
“I was disappointed to hear that the incident had occurred, but I was pleased by the resolution passed by the Student Assembly and the variety of ways in which students have demonstrated that the students who engaged in those actions are outliers in this community,” said Dean of Students Nancy Thompson.
In addition to an investigation by the Bias Incident Response Team, Student Assembly has made their opinion on the matter known. At this Monday’s meeting, the Assembly had discussed sportsmanship, drafted a resolution on the issue and proposed an op-ed on the topic.
Hind hopes that students will take the matter to heart and not just brush it off as just some rude remark. “The actions of a few many times impact all of us. People tend to paint with a broad brush. This incident probably won’t be looked upon by folks outside our campus as one or two students acting disrespectfully,” said Hind. “Rather, the story will be about how all fans at Hamilton are rude and disrespectful. We all need to feel comfortable letting someone know when we witness bad behavior.”
Despite the incident and its effects, Nizzi still loves the support the team gets from the majority of the Hamilton population and encourages students to continue to attend games whenever possible. “We love the college spirit and devotion of our true fans and hope the others stay away.”