Columbia University Stops Wrestling Team From Competing Over Racist And Sexist Text Messages

Members of the men's wrestling team used the n-word and said "I hope someone actually gets sexually assaulted" while discussing campus rape.

By
Tasneem Nashrulla
by Tasneem Nashrulla

BuzzFeed News Reporter

Columbia University on Monday announced that its men's wrestling team would not compete pending an investigation into racist, sexist, and lewd messages allegedly exchanged by its male members.

Mario Tama / Getty Images

The Ivy League university began an investigation into lewd messages allegedly exchanged by several members of the men's varsity wrestling team through the messaging app GroupMe, which mocked female students' appearances, and contained homophobic and racial slurs.

On Nov. 10, Columbia's independent student-run paper, Bwog, first published alleged screenshots of the messages — spanning three years — which included using the n-word and "faggot" and referred to a woman as "fish pussy."

One message said, "I hope someone actually gets sexually assaulted," while discussing campus sexual assault.

"Columbia University has zero tolerance in its athletics programs for the group messaging and texts sent by several members of the men’s varsity wrestling team," the university said in a statement provided to BuzzFeed News.

Calling the text messages "appalling," the university said that the athletics department "has decided that Columbia wrestlers will not compete until we have a full understanding of the facts on which to base the official response to

this disturbing matter."

Columbia's announcement came just a week after Harvard University canceled its soccer season over a "scouting report" where the men's soccer team ranked the women's team recruits on their physical attributes and sexual appeal.

Screenshots of the alleged messages, posted by Bwog, showed the wrestlers sending Instagram pictures of female students and mocking their appearances.

Commenting on one woman's photo, a member referred to her as "fish pussy" while a comment on another woman's photo read "looking like a dude in a wig."

In one exchange about a meeting, a member said, "We pretty much just talked about how the girls were ugly."

In another exchange, a member said that girls at the Miami University in Ohio "beg for the cock so hard" which prompted another to respond: "Columbia bitches feel entitled to something when in reality they are all ugly socially awkward cunts."

While discussing an article suggesting that Columbia was cancelling Bacchanal — a spring concert for undergraduates — to prevent campus sexual assault, one of the wrestlers said, "I hope someone actually gets sexually assaulted."

The members also allegedly used racial slurs, including the n-word, and made derogatory comments about black people.

One message said, "How would I get a gf? I barely pull nigs," to which another member responded, "Nothing to be ashamed about being a night rider either."

In another exchange, one member told another, "you fucked a black bald girl..." which prompted this message: "How big was her dick compared to braziers?"

While discussing a protest after a fatal police shooting of an unarmed black teen, a message read, "Did you see any of those nigs in North St. Louis protesting that teenager getting shot by the cops?" Another message read, "There (sic) such fucking nigs dude, so far the only places that have been looted was a rim shop and a pawn shop."

In one exchange, a wrestler said, "Like people in Africa still can't tell time and that's why even if we gave then (sic) free aids medicine they wouldn't be able to use it properly."

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