Whitworth women’s soccer team members posing in Blackface. (Twitter Photo)
Five women college soccer players from Whitworth University, a Christian institution in Spokane, Wash., were suspended from a soccer match earlier this month, after a photo of the teammates wearing blackface showed up on social media.
The picture shows the girls posing in a parking lot, dressed up in afro wigs and wearing blackface. According to the Washington Post, the girls were at a team gathering at a bowling alley when the photo was taken. KXLY-TV, the ABC affiliate in Spokane, reported that the photo was captioned: “Oh baby give me one more chance. #Jackson 5 #thisiswhitworthsoccer.”
The photo was shared multiple times on university President Beck A. Taylor’s Facebook page by people hoping to get a response from the administration. According to the TV station, Whitworth’s Associate Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Dr. Lawrence Burnley quickly responded saying, “We understand how offensive and damaging blackface is to a number of people, many racial backgrounds, of course particularly to African-Americans.”
Jael Hagerott, the women’s head soccer coach, released a statement acknowledging his players’ actions were wrong and justified their suspension.
“In light of the impact that these actions have had on Whitworth and the greater Spokane community, we feel it is in the best interest of all involved to take this action at this time,” Hagerott said in the statement posted on the soccer team’s website. “While their intentions were not malicious, the outcome of their actions was painful for many in our community. We feel that this punitive response is proportional to their actions.”
Burnley said when he spoke to the students some said they were not aware of the history of blackface. He blamed the American education system for that ignorance. He did go on to apologize on Facebook on behalf of the school’s administration.
“Whitworth has absolutely no tolerance for the type of behavior demonstrated,” he said. “Moved and driven by our mission, President Beck A. Taylor has recently said, ‘Whitworth’s commitment to diversity stems from a Christ-centered heritage that compels us to love justice and to treat every individual equally with respect and compassion. It is through the inclusion and experiences of others, often from diverse viewpoints, that we often see more clearly dimensions of life different than our own.’”
The team’s captains apologized in a statement as well, calling the actions “inappropriate and disrespectful.”
The photo has since been removed from social media.
Whitworth University is a private Christian liberal arts school located in Spokane. According to the school’s website, it enrolls fewer than 2,300 undergraduate students and a little over 200 graduate students. According to The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education only 2 percent of the undergraduate student body is Black.
Twitter: @hunter_jonathan