The University of Maryland has suspended its club tennis organization after it distributed a graphic containing racist imagery, the university announced.
The student organization "distributed programming material with a graphic containing racist imagery directed at people who are Black or African American," University of Maryland President Darryll J. Pines said in a statement.
Although the incident "may have directly involved only a few student team members," the university's Recreation and Wellness department suspended the entire team indefinitely "pending an administrative investigation by the Office of Student Conduct," the statement said.
The university's police department and Office of Civil Rights & Sexual Misconduct are also investigating
the incident.
"We condemned the image in no uncertain terms. It was deeply harmful and offensive, and I offer my apology for its detrimental impact on one and all," Pines added.
USA TODAY has reached out to the University of Maryland club tennis team, University of Maryland Police Department, Recreation and Wellness department and Office of Student Conduct for comment.
University of Maryland club tennis team sent racist imagery to other universities
The university said the racist imagery was emailed to other regional university tennis clubs in programming material for an upcoming tournament.
Students from Howard University were among those participating in the tournament. In a statement, Howard President Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick condemned the imagery, saying it "evoked a painful history of racial terror and exclusion that has no place in an environment dedicated to learning, personal development, and mutual respect."
"We stand firmly in support of our students who participated in the tournament," Frederick said. The statement also expressed appreciation for the University of Maryland's handling of the incident.
While the tournament continued for other participating teams, University of Maryland's club tennis team forfeited its matches and its student leaders met with other team captains to apologize. They also sent an apology email to each of the invited club teams, the university said.
Staff from the University of Maryland met with the visiting teams, and the director of the Recreation and Wellness department sent an email to university recreation directors at participating schools apologizing for the incident, the university said.
Image referenced Ku Klux Klan, Howard club tennis team says
Howard's club tennis team said in a statementthat the graphic contained "a recognizable symbol associated with the Ku Klux Klan."
The image depicted an altered version of the Maryland state flag with "KKK pointed hood masks complete with eye holes" replacing the Crossland coat of arms in the second and third quarters of the flag, the team said.
The club's president noticed the graphic while reviewing a shared Google document emailed to the participating tennis teams, the statement said.
"The imagery is a recognizable symbol of white supremacy, organized hate, and violence. The inclusion of this imagery raises fundamental questions: Why was this racist imagery included in the materials, how long has this image been used in UMD documents, and what review process permitted it to remain there?" the team's statement said.
Howard's team reached the semifinals, its best result in the tournament since the club's founding in 2021, the statement said.
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. Keep up with her on X @melinakh and Instagram @bymelinakhan.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: University of Maryland suspends club tennis over racist imagery
