Members of the St. Joseph’s woman’s softball team released a statement Monday regarding allegations that surfaced last week that they forced younger players to participate in unsanctioned hazing.
The statement was released to the The Hawk, a student-run news organization at the university, nearly a week after local news outlets got wind of the hazing accusations.
“In response to media reports that you may have heard about or seen on the SJU softball team, we wanted to address our community directly. We hope you’ll read this letter without any bias.
We live, eat and breathe SJU softball. We love our school – the field we play on, the public safety officers that come to our games, our coaches that dedicate so much time and energy to our development, and the community that allows us to wear the Hawks logo on our uniforms.
As a team, we are devastated by the allegations and resulting reports that have come about in recent weeks. We take an immense amount of pride in our program, and the thought of our community thinking less of our character is the hardest piece to swallow.
We respect the ongoing investigation and the officials involved and cannot address specific allegations at this time. As you have likely seen, they are serious and not to be taken lightly – but the buzzwords reported by the media do not capture the spirit of our culture.
What we can tell you right now is this: we have the utmost respect for each other and this school. Every person on our team – past and present – is family. We hold each other accountable and we support each other on and off the field. We make each other better as players and as people.
If you have a class with us, share a dorm with us, eat with us in the cafeteria, we ask you this: let your gut determine the kind of people we are, and hold off on judgment in light of recent reports. Though we cannot discuss specific allegations right now, we can work to maintain your trust and respect.
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It is our hope that you haven’t lost faith in us. We are facing allegations head on and with our heads held high. Hawk Hill is too important to us to do anything less.”
St. Joseph's University officials confirmed last week the alleged hazing was under investigation.
"SJU is taking these allegations very seriously and is well into a comprehensive investigation of the matter," a university spokesman said in a statement to NBC10.
"While that investigation is not yet complete, remedial actions have already been taken to assure the safety and welfare of any affected students," the statement continued. "Due to federal student privacy regulations, there can and will be no additional comment by the University at this time."
The hazing controversy comes on the heels of another scandal involving the St. Joe's athletic department. The Hawk reported a men's basketball player tweeted offensive remarks about the LGBTQ community on his personal Twitter account in late March.
