Heavyweights suspended as athletic dept. probes

Alcohol-drenched bowling night may end the season and put the future of crew at Yale in question.

Under different circumstances, it might have been almost comical. Lined across the back wall of the Ace C. Israel Fitness Center at Payne Whitney, amidst freshmen desperate to keep off the famed 15, were a group of fine-tuned athletes, the members of the heavyweight crew team, completing the final workouts of their annual Tour de Payne. But the rowers, exiled from the varsity training facilities, worked out not knowing if they would ever actually race again as a team.

COURTESY SPORTS PUBLICITY Despite the suspension and an athletic department investigation, team members expect a reinstatement.

As the result of an initiation gone awry on Sat., Dec. 2, Athletic Director Tom Beckett announced on Tues., Dec. 5 the suspension of the varsity crew team, pending a departmental investigation into the team's conduct.

The suspension, which is currently open-ended, barred the team from using the varsity facilities or officially practicing as a team. The initiation itself, an annual bowling night, ended with several freshman members in DUH. "It's a pretty simple situation," heavyweight Captain Scott Proper, ES '01, explained. "The crew team had bowling night over the weekend. We hung out for a while, and then we went to bowl up in Hamden." While certainly admitting that drinking was involved at some point in the evening, Proper was quick to defend it. "It's been around as long as I can remember," he said. "It's designed to be a positive relationship-building thing. Crew is very team-oriented, more than any other sport. Interpersonal relationships are an important part of crew, and bowling night leads to better relationships." Another team member, who spoke only on the condition on anonymity, echoed Proper's sentiment. "It's intended to be a comfortable situation," he said, adding that there is no pressure on the freshmen to drink.

Media attention has come from student publications, from local television stations, and even the Associated Press, which listed the suspension in its daily transaction list, an item picked up by papers all over the country, including The New York Times. As a result, heavyweight rowers have become increasingly unwilling to discuss the situation or the potential implications on the team's season and future, and Head Coach David Vogel could not be reached for comment.

But the potential repercussions might be significant, as the athletic department is taking decisive action for the first time in recent memory despite a number of initiation-related problems. Earlier this fall, the women's swimming team initiation ended with at least one freshman feeling she had been pressured into an uncomfortable, drinking-related situation. Yet despite complaints from the student to her freshman counselor and eventually her college Dean, the athletic department chose not to investigate or suspend the team. The swimming team is certainly not alone; other teams have had members hospitalized for alcohol-related problems this fall. Asked whether the rowers felt they were being singled out, "yeah, I think we are," one said.

Nevertheless, Proper and others remained confident that the end result would not adversely affect the team or its season. "I think that the athletic department is responding conservatively," he said. "I think there is a misunderstanding regarding what happened on Saturday. They want to get the facts straight."

Regardless of the eventual outcome of the investigation and the athletic department's meetings with the rowers—which, according to Proper, have been going "all day long...7 a.m. to 9 p.m"— the very existence of an investigation may signal a new commitment within the department to cracking down on the widespread practice. In an e-mail sent to members of club sports teams Thurs., Dec. 7, Leigh Brandriff of the club sports office cautioned, "The Club Sports Office would like to remind you of our zero-tolerance policy regarding hazing." In addition, the e-mail listed the athletic department guidelines with regards to hazing, which specifically prohibit "any requirement that compels a member...to participate in any activity which is illegal."

For now, the team will have to work out on its own, using the same facilities available to the Yale community at large. Asked if he expects the squad's varsity status to be restored, Proper responded quickly, "Without a doubt."

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