Minnesota players announced an end to their boycott of all team activities Saturday morning, not two days after the boycott was announced on Thursday night.
Like they did Thursday night, the players spoke in brief on Saturday morning, saying their demand for the university to overturn the indefinite suspensions of 10 of their teammates wasn't going to happen.
Ten Minnesota players were suspended earlier this week as a result of a university investigation into a sexual assault from early September. The players viewed the suspensions as unjust after a police investigation into the incident in the fall yielded no charges. But the school's office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action conducted its own investigation, resulting in these suspensions.
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According to the Star Tribune, five of the suspended players are facing expulsion from the school: KiAnte Hardin, Ray Buford, Dior Johnson, Tamarion Johnson and Carlton Djam. Four are facing a one-year suspension: Antoine Winfield Jr., Seth Green, Mark Williams and Kobe McCrary. And one, Antonio Shenault, could receive probation.
The players alleged that their teammates were suspended without due process and had their reputations ruined.
The players announced their boycott citing a meeting with athletics director Mark Coyle in which no answers were given to their questions about the suspensions and demanded to meet with two members of the board of regents. They got that meeting Friday, as well as an additional meeting with Coyle and university president Eric Kaler.
The boycott threatened to last through the Gophers' scheduled appearance in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 27 in San Diego. But the boycott is now a thing of the past, and the players said they will begin immediate preparations for their bowl game.
Big Ten
Here are the full comments read by wide receiver Drew Wolitarsky on Saturday morning:
"Let me first state so there is no misinterpretation: Sexual harassment and violence against women have no place on this campus, on our team, in our society, and at no time is it ever condoned. We recognize that there is a legal threshold and there is a moral threshold and a standard of values set forth by this university. There is only one acceptable way to treat all women and all men, and that is with the utmost respect at all times.
"On Tuesday, we along with everyone else, learned of the suspension of 10 of our teammates. Five of them had been previously suspended for an incident where they were not charged with any crime. We are not here to judge or defend their actions — that is for the authorities. We also learned that five additional teammates were indefinitely suspended. We had questions and still do not understand how such severe consequences could be vetted without proper due process.
"We were disappointed at the lack of communication from the administration and their unwillingness to share information about their decision under the cover of student privacy. We also understand that they have requirements that they need to follow about sharing information. Yet at the same time, we observed how our teammates' names and pictures were shared with the world and reputations ruined.
"We stated that we were going to boycott all football activities until our 10 teammates had their suspensions lifted. We also had a larger goal, and that was to have an open discussion about the lack of due process that occurs when an accusation is made against anyone.
"After many hours of discussion within our team, and after speaking with president Kaler, it became clear that our original request of having the 10 suspensions overturned was not going to happen.
"Our senior group had a meeting with president Kaler and AD Mark Coyle last night where they agreed to the following requests. That all 10 of the players have a fairing hearing, which includes a divers review panel. No. 2, a showing of support for our team and the character shown by the great majority of our players. Finally, that we as a team will use our status as public figures to bring more exposure to the issue of sexual harassment and violence against women. We will have more details on our plans for that at a later time.
"Therefore we would like to announce that we are ending our boycott and will immediately begin preparations for playing in the Holiday Bowl. As a team, we understand that what has occurred these past few days, and playing football for the University of Minnesota, is larger than just us. So many before us have given so much to this university and this football team. So many coaches, staff, administrators, professors, alumni, fans and our community have invested heavily in the success of our program. We will not and we recognize that we must not let these people down.
"We now ask that you, the members of the media, our fans and the general public, hold all of us accountable for ensuring that our teammates are treated fairly, along with any and all the victims of sexual assault. We also ask that the public dialogue related to the apparent lack of due process in a university system is openly discussed and evaluated.
"As football players, we know that we represent this university and this state and that we are held to a higher standard. We want to express our deepest gratitude to our coaching staff and so many other for their support during this difficult time, and we hope that our fans and community understand why we took the actions that we did.
"Our thoughts and prayers are for the well-being of the woman involved in the original incident and for our 10 teammates to ensure that they are treated fairly. We look forward to representing the University of Minnesota and the state of Minnesota in the Holiday Bowl in a way that makes all of you proud."