The gambling suspension handed to the Notre Dame men’s swimming team may only be scratching the surface of what the program could face amid deeper investigations into the program’s culture.
On August 15, the men’s swim team was suspended for a minimum of one year after an independent law firm found that most team members engaged in gambling throughout the season, including placing over/under wages on times and betting on “how many women would cry after their races.”
But the gambling suspension may only be the tip of the iceberg.
A source told SwimSwam that the team is also under investigation by Notre Dame’s Office of Institutional Equity (OIE), which deals with ensuring the discrimination, harassment and retaliation policies within the school and legally are complied with.
The investigation stems from allegations of hazing, and group texts involving homophobic slurs and bestiality, according to the source. Individual athletes are being investigated for their roles in the alleged behaviors.
The statement made by the school handing down the suspension in mid-August notably said it was for “at least one academic year,” leaving the possibility of it being extended.
Last season, Boston College’s swim & dive program was suspended for one academic year after an investigation confirmed allegations of hazing, along with recurring conduct issues, which is consistent with what Notre Dame alluded to in announcing the men’s swim team’s gambling suspension.
“The external review confirmed and expanded on our initial concerns about a deeply embedded team culture dismissive of Notre Dame’s standards for student-athletes, including our expectation that they treat one another with dignity and respect,” the statement said.
Last year’s BC suspension came in the wake of an array of hazing issues within the sport in the late 2010s, including Brown, Dartmouth, East Carolina and Bucknell all facing ramifications for hazing.
In 2015, Western Kentucky suspended its swim & dive programs for five years for hazing, and efforts to revive the programs began this past April after the teams didn’t come back when the suspension ended.
If the current OIE investigation does find that the Notre Dame men’s team engaged in hazing (and other misconduct), it stands to reason that the suspension could be extended beyond the current one-year ban. This latest development only adds to the lingering questions about the situation.
These kids make it easier for ADs to cut programs
Kids need to be careful in their group chats.
I think Notre Dame misunderstood the term having that dog in you
“bestiality” okay notre dame you may have gone too far this time LMAO
Let’s be honest. If the Notre Dame football team did the same stuff the swim team was alleged to have done, Notre Dame would sweep it under the rug, not suspend the team for 1+ years. But swimming is easy to cut because it costs a lot more than the revenue it generates.
Most Likely…But that’s a given for ALL OTHER NON REVENUE GENERATING SPORTS. Comparing the ND Swimming Team to the Football Team is like comparing Shohei Ohtani to a Minor League Baseball Player. Minor Leaguers were suspended 1 year for gambling no question asked and Shohei’s translator became the ultimate fall guy…
Whenever I hear about an entire program getting suspended for hazing, I get very uncomfortable, because as well as punishment for the offenders it seems to have the effect of retaliation against whistleblowers.
To be clear, I don’t know anything about the Notre Dame situation except for what I’ve read here, and it seems their suspension is NOT for hazing, but for gambling. The BC suspension seems to have been for hazing, so there is precedent.
Suppose you’re an athlete on a college team, and you or your teammates are a victim of serious hazing. It’s already a brave, difficult thing to do to report this, since it might result in the offending athletes being suspended or kicked off the… Read more »
Wondering why the two divers are allowed to remain “on the roster” and how that can even work. Will they schedule meets? Can the dive coach remain on deck? Can’t find anything online about this, except the 24-25 roster lists two divers.
Most likely it was a swimmers only group chat, divers are often excluded…the diving coach also coaches women so why wouldn’t they be able to be on deck? They currently don’t have a dive coach though, that guy got out of dodge and went to Purdue.
No divers were in all the chats as well
Right. All the coaches are still listed on the ND roster, including the dive coach. Purdue recently announced the new associate coach coming from ND – so there’s no dive coach for women or men and presumably no meets for the men-unless they can somehow tag on to the women’s’ meets.
The dive roster is not and was never separate from the swim roster. They are not distinct teams and divers score as an event in swimming/diving like any other event even though there is de facto distinction and variation in integration across teams. The unofficial group chat didn’t include the whole team- it excluded divers- which is fine in an unofficial endeavor- but I don’t see how the divers… Read more »
Idk how to tell you guys this, but this is probably the behavior of 90% of male athletes under 22. It’s a problem and we should continue to strive towards a better society, but acting surprised about this is like acting surprised when a certain president tries to overturn an election.
Be constructive, not destructive with the younger generation
I don’t think 90% of male athletes use homophobic slurs or reference bestiality.
I hate to break it to you my friend but 90% is probably pretty close to correct
Weir brag.
I’d also point out there’s a difference between “something was done” and “something was tolerated.”
If someone says something, their captains reign it in, and they apologize and acknowledge their error, then fine. Move on.
A wise (and very fast) swimmer once said to me: “Everyone makes mistakes. (redacted) made it a habit.”
90% of males in general, not just athletes