By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
The gambling suspension handed to the Notre Dame men’s swimming team may only be scratching the surface of what the program could face amid deeper investigations into the program’s culture.
On August 15, the men’s swim team was suspended for a minimum of one year after an independent law firm found that most team members engaged in gambling throughout the season, including placing over/under wages on times and betting on “how many women would cry after their races.”
But the gambling suspension may only be the tip of the iceberg.
A source told SwimSwam that the team is also under investigation by Notre Dame’s Office of Institutional Equity (OIE), which deals with ensuring the discrimination, harassment and retaliation policies within the school and legally are complied with.
The investigation stems from allegations of hazing, and group texts involving homophobic slurs and bestiality, according to the source. Individual athletes are being investigated for their roles in the alleged behaviors.
The statement made by the school handing down the suspension in mid-August notably said it was for “at least one academic year,” leaving the possibility of it being extended.
Last season, Boston College’s swim & dive program was suspended for one academic year after an investigation confirmed allegations of hazing, along with recurring conduct issues, which is consistent with what Notre Dame alluded to in announcing the men’s swim team’s gambling suspension.
“The external review confirmed and expanded on our initial concerns about a deeply embedded team culture dismissive of Notre Dame’s standards for student-athletes, including our expectation that they treat one another with dignity and respect,” the statement said.
Last year’s BC suspension came in the wake of an array of hazing issues within the sport in the late 2010s, including Brown, Dartmouth, East Carolina and Bucknell all facing ramifications for hazing.
In 2015, Western Kentucky suspended its swim & dive programs for five years for hazing, and efforts to revive the programs began this past April after the teams didn’t come back when the suspension ended.
If the current OIE investigation does find that the Notre Dame men’s team engaged in hazing (and other misconduct), it stands to reason that the suspension could be extended beyond the current one-year ban. This latest development only adds to the lingering questions about the situation.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Notre Dame Men’s Teams Issues Go Far Beyond Gambling, Source Says