Colorado State Halts Football Activities Indefinitely Amid Allegations of Racial Abuse
The announcement comes days after a report surfaced in which players and staff allege they have been told not to report COVID-19 symptoms.
Colorado State athletics director Joe Parker announced in a statement Friday that all football-related activities would be indefinitely paused, effective immediately, as the school launches an expanded investigation into allegations of racism and verbal abuse within the university's athletic program, and particularly the football program.
“Today we learned of some extremely troubling allegations of racism and verbal abuse from CSU’s athletic administration generally and in the football program specifically," the statement read. "Colorado State University is committed to being an anti-racist university, and we will not tolerate any behavior or climate that goes against that core value.
"Moreover, CSU Athletics is committed to the health and well-being of student-athletes above all other priorities, and this includes their mental health. We believe it is our responsibility to make sure that all student-athletes feel welcomed and valued as members of an inclusive athletics community.”
The announcement comes days after a report surfaced in which a number of Colorado State football players and athletics department staff have alleged that they've been instructed to not to report COVID-19 symptoms, among other measures diminishing health threats, according to Miles Blumhardt of the Fort Collins Coloradoan.
The report says that coaches have threatened to reduce playing time for players if they quarantine, and that coaches have adjusted contact tracing reports to keep from disrupting the team's practice schedule.
"I believe there is a cover-up going on at CSU,'' one current football player told the Coloradoan. "But they could only cover it up so long and now that we have so many cases across athletics, they can’t cover it up anymore. It’s not about the health and safety of the players but about just trying to make money off the players.''
Several players took to social media to dispute the report.
In his statement Friday, Parker said the school will expand the independent investigation it announced on Tuesday to include these latest allegations.
"While we have been working hard towards playing football this fall, the holistic well-being of our student-athletes is our unequivocal top priority," Parker wrote. "We must and will address these allegations before we focus on playing football.”
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