Minnesota football team announces boycott to protest sexual assault suspensions

Members of the University of Minnesota football team announced a boycott of “all football activity” Thursday night in protest of the recent suspension of 10 players over allegations of sexual assault, according to media reports.

The Golden Gophers are scheduled to play Washington State in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 27 in San Diego. However, 10 players were suspended indefinitely Wednesday after a university investigation into a Sept. 3 incident of alledged sexual assault, according to the Associated Press and the Star-Tribune. No charges were filed in the incident, which involved a member of Minnesota’s gameday operations, but restraining orders were filed against several players.

But after a closed-door meeting with only players Thursday, the team announced that it would not practice and would potentially skip the bowl game until “due process is followed and the suspensions of all 10 players involved are lifted,” according to senior Drew Wolitarsky, who read from a prepared statement.

The players also called for university president Eric Kaler and athletic director Mark Coyle to apologize for the incident, with one player’s father saying his son would quit the team if they retained their jobs.

Wolitarsky asked that the Holiday Bowl committee be patient as the boycott continues and university officials consider the team’s demands.

According to the Star-Tribune, after the initial incident in September, four players were suspended for three games while the police investigated, and a fifth was barred from entering Minnesota’s stadium after the alleged victim obtained a restraining order.

While the restraining orders were later lifted, the Star-Tribune reports that the players were still required to stay 20 feet away from the alleged victim.

Meanwhile, while no criminal action was brought against the players, the university’s office for Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action conducted its own investigation, which led to the announced suspensions Wednesday. The woman claims she was forced to have sex with as many as four players. Five of their players involved face expulsion from the university for alleged rape, according to the players’ lawyer.

The players suspended are Ray Buford, Carlton Djam, Seth Green, KiAnte Hardin, Dior Johnson, Tamarion Johnson, Kobe McCrary, Antonio Shenault, Antoine Winfield Jr. and Mark Williams.

Wolitarsky said the suspended players’ constitutional rights were violated and demanded a meeting between the team and the university regents without Kaler or Coyle present. He also said that Coyle provided “misleading statements” in a meeting with the team.

Coyle and Kaper released a statement in response to the announced boycott, standing by the suspensions and not apologizing.

“We understand that a lot of confusion and frustration exists as a result of this week’s suspension of 10 Gopher Football players from all team activites,” the statement read. “The reality is that not everyone can have all the facts, and unfortunately the University cannot share more information due to federal laws regarding student privacy. We fully support our Gopher football players and all of our student-athletes. Situations like this are always difficult and the decision was made in consultation with and has the full support of President Eric Kaler. The decision was based on facts and is reflective of the University’s values.”

Meanwhile, the team’s head coach, Tracy Claeys, expressed his support for the boycott on Twitter, tweeting that he has “never been more proud” of his players and commending them for their “effort to make a better world.”

On social media, the hashtag #WeHadEnough has been used by both supporters and critics of the team to express their feelings on the boycott and suspensions.

This story was originally published December 15, 2016 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Minnesota football team announces boycott to protest sexual assault suspensions."