Members of the Northwestern women’s soccer team came together and issued their first official comment Saturday following allegations of hazing on May 15.
The team wrote a letter addressed to “the Northwestern community” and passed it on to coach Jenny Haigh with the intention of having it released to The Daily.
Haigh told The Daily on Thursday that some of the players were getting together to write “some kind of apology, something along those lines.”
Last Monday, Athletic Director Mark Murphy suspended the team indefinitely, pending a Division of Student Affairs investigation into an alleged hazing incident at a party attended by several players last August.
The suspension came after 16 pictures from the party were posted on BadJocks.com showing alleged initiation rituals with players in their underwear, dressed in costumes, blindfolded with their hands bound by athletic tape, consuming alcohol and performing sexually suggestive acts.
On Wednesday, former members of the women’s soccer program denied a history of hazing in an e-mail that was sent to several local and national media outlets.
Sunday’s letter from the women’s soccer team follows, unedited and unabridged:
To the members of the Northwestern community,
We, the Northwestern women’s soccer team, apologize for the negative attention, press, and controversy our alleged hazing incident has caused the University. We never foresaw that what began as a well-intentioned night of team unity and celebration would have such severe consequences, and we are embarrassed that our actions have become the source of such harsh criticism.
We fully accept responsibility for our behavior and understand the magnitude and severity of the current situation. As Northwestern varsity student-athletes, we take extreme pride in representing this school, and this incident does not reflect the values, integrity and qualities we seek to embody.
We hope this incident has not resulted in a breach of trust. From here, we will move in a positive direction toward reestablishing our relationship with the Northwestern community. Let this be a learning experience not only for the women’s soccer team, but for all Northwestern groups, organizations and teams who wish to uphold the honor and prestige of this university.
In addition, we extend our apologies to teammate Kelly Sitkowski, who had absolutely no role in the incident and was not present that evening.
– Members of the 2005-06 Northwestern University women’s soccer team
David Morrison can be reached at [email protected].
