Posted on 05/07/2012 10:21:31 AM PDT by billorites
The president of Tufts University Thursday lifted a suspension from competition levied against the men's rowing team that was handed out after members printed sexually suggestive T-shirts the rowers wore to an annual campus event.
The reinstatement, requested by university President Anthony Monaco, comes in time for this weekend's New England Rowing Championships in which the team's 31 rowers may now compete, the university said.
"Most decisions regarding our athletic teams are appropriately made at the programmatic level, and that was originally the case in this instance," Tufts spokeswoman Kimberly Thurler said in a statement. "However, given the larger issues involved, including issues of freedom of expression, President Monaco felt it was appropriate to review the entire matter with the coaches and our athletics director."
The fluorescent yellow tank-tops were printed for the annual schoolwide celebration called Spring Fling held last Friday on the president's lawn, and were emblazoned with a profile of a boat full of cartoon rowers complete with a coxswain, who sits at the head of the boat to direct the rowers during competition.
The caption drew the ire of at least one Tufts community member, who complained in writing that a sexually suggestive slogan that played off a common abbreviation of the coxswain's title was offensive toward women, and promoted a culture of rape and sexually aggressive behavior, according to the campus newspaper that first reported the suspensions, citing several people who read or have direct knowledge of the complaint.
The apparel violated team policy against "producing, purchasing, and wearing as a group unauthorized tee-shirts," Thurler said. The infraction was the "fundamental issue, not the one complaint that was received."
"In this case ... we must balance the internal question of team discipline with the university's commitment to an environment that supports free expression," Thurler said.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Sounds to me like guys having guy humor.
I take it we’ll never see this guy become the President of the University of South Carolina.
Well, great T-shirt!
“...a culture of rape....” Baloney.
The wussification of America continues.
Is everything offensive to women? I think not.
President Monaco is worried about alumni financial support.
Perhaps he has a t-shirt that reads “ check out our checks!”?
ROTLMFAO ! I know Tuft’s being in MA, they are definitely under East Coast political correctness.
They'd get $250 per shirt, I bet.
Leftists don’t have a sense of humor.
Leftists don’t have a sense of humor.
My first thought would have been “why are the advertising for a cable company”?
So “Check out our cox” would be saying ‘look at the pretty little woman yelling at us!’.
We had some fine women on the team, tall other than the cox, and Crew does wonders for the legs and buttocks. We were really close and had “Crew parties”.
One year we got a skeevy guy recruit who, at the first party of the season, groped a few women, lifting the skirt of a friend of mine who would have (and probably should have) kicked his ass with little effort.
No muss no fuss. We kicked him out of the party and off the team. But because of the incident - which we all handled just FINE - we all (but not him because he was off the team) had to attend a day long seminar “training” us not to treat women like that.
Well, to be honest, it’s really not that clever. In fact, it’s not clever at all.
Yeah, I used to work at a place that had them for a client. Siemens too.
There was a lot of "huh huhhuh huh huhuhhuh you said...." going on. 40 year old men acting like 14 year olds.
Of course I never participated. :-)
Exactly. Their HQ is about 3 miles from here.
I believe that Univ of South Carolina once had a homecoming theme titled “Year of the Rising Cock!” No kidding, late 80’s I think.
You're supposed to call a doctor if it lasts more than 4 hours. A year, I suspect, would be uncomfortable.
I wasn't meant for you.
I still can’t wait for South Carolina to play Oregon State in a bowl game.
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