To The Editor:
The Summary of the NCAA, SCIAC and University Statements on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct — which is announced to the crowd before every collegiate game — reads, “The NCAA promotes good sportsmanship by student athletes, coaches and spectators… Profanity, racial or sexist comments, or other intimidating actions directed at officials, student athletes, coaches or team representatives will not be tolerated and are grounds for removal from the site of competition.”
On Tuesday, January 31, officials at Keene State College blatantly disregarded the guidelines formed by the NCAA in what was the worst case of harassment that I have encountered in over a decade of spectating and competing in athletics.
In the early afternoon on Jan. 31 four Middlebury College students and I made the two-and-a-half hour drive to Keene, N.H. to support our school and our team. The game, as well as the newly renovated Spaulding Gymnasium, did not disappoint.
What transpired in between our arrival and the final buzzer, however, was a deplorable display of sportsmanship by the college’s student body and a gross misjudgment on the part of Keene State officials.
Upon arrival we found seats in the student section — the only area of the gym where there was enough room for the five of us. We supported our team in a respectful manner, directing our cheers and comments to our own players, as is the right of any fan.
After what appeared to be good-natured banter from members of the Owls’ student section in response to our presence, a group of individuals escalated their involvement. At various times over the course of the game, and for large stretches of the second half, between two and four KSC students would stand directly in front of us, impeding our view of the game. Not content to just occupy our space, however, they began to insult each of us personally using a multitude of homophobic slurs.
We ignored them.
As the game progressed, so did their harassment. On more than one occasion members of the KSC student body shoved or knocked us over into the bleachers. Not one person in the crowd made an attempt to stop anything or say something. Fittingly, one of these moments is captured in the 3:30 highlight reel made of the game on the Owls’ athletics website.
As the students became rowdier and more physical, we noticed that a Keene State College police officer had arrived at the bottom of the bleachers below us. Noticing his presence, one of the KSC students asked me if I had called the cops on him. I shook my head.
“What kind of car do you drive?” the same student asked me in response.
Once again, I did not reply.
“We can meet in the parking lot and settle this. Is that what you want?” This time I shook my head.
At no point, did the KSC police officer approach us or make any attempt to deter what was taking place right above him. He made no attempt to even ask us if he could help.
In the final minute of the game a man in the bleachers reached out to us. After apologizing to us for the actions of the students, he told us to be “very aware” of ourselves after the game and that he would help us if needed.
He was the first person who made any attempt to alleviate the repeated harassment that we experienced from almost the moment we arrived in the gym.
When the game ended we hastily made our exit past students streaming to center court to celebrate Keene State’s win. As two students passed us on the way to the excited scrum they held up their middle fingers and shouted more anti-gay slurs. Thankfully, we made it from the gym to our car without another incident and discretely left the campus.
While I understand that our experience represents just one faction of the KSC student body, that sect of the student body represents the school as much as any other group of students.
If the athletics department is truly committed to its mission that “every individual will be treated with respect,” KSC students and officials need to stop turning a blind eye to the repugnant antics of a group of individuals who threaten to tarnish the reputation of the entire school.
Damon Hatheway
Sports Editor
Middlebury College