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.
Any update on the situation of ND swim team? Is there more investigation going on? Potentially more bad news or penalty to come? Or, all the investigation is done and ND will be back to “normal” training/meets after the one year suspension?
Will individuals also be charged? Will that affect their transfer?
So crazy
The Rice Purity Test fears no man, but that thing: “Notre Dame Men’s Swimming” it scares me
It’s wild how many people here in the comments are defending homophobia (and bestiality??). I do feel bad for any athletes who were not involved in this mess and who are now paying the price for their teammate’s actions. The gambling was one thing (although it’s very clearly illegal under NCAA regs), but behavior described in this article really should not be tolerated.
is having conversations about sexual acts on (or with) a leprechaun considered bestality?
asking for a (very tiny) friend.
Boys will be boys. Just give them a little detention.
Boys will be held accountable for their actions.
Shit went down. This suspension is extreme considering these are college students who do stupid things. Myself included in the stupid things category. Why are they being obscure about what went down.