UMD has indefinitely benched its club tennis squad after a graphic using Klan hoods reached rival schools ahead of a regional tournament.
The University of Maryland has indefinitely suspended its club tennis team after a racist graphic built on Ku Klux Klan imagery was shared with other universities before a regional tournament. The move follows a wave of condemnation, and it is a stark reminder that hate can show up in college sport's quietest corners.
The image reworked the Maryland state flag to include KKK hoods. It was sitting in a shared Google document sent to the schools taking part in the event, which meant every visiting team had access to it before a ball was struck.
Toni Rachal, president of the club tennis team at Howard University, a historically Black institution, spotted the material and brought it to light. Her call-out set off the backlash that led Maryland to pull its team from competition.
The suspension is open-ended, with no return date announced. Club sport often runs under the radar with little oversight, but this case shows that student-run teams are held to the same standards of conduct as any varsity program. How Maryland follows through, and who answers for the graphic, will be what people watch next.
