Appalachian State University has suspended a white player from its men’s tennis team after the freshman was accused of making racist remarks to a black opponent from North Carolina A&T State University.
The incident is alleged to have happened on Sunday when the two teams were playing in Boone.
The school announced the suspension after A&T player John Wilson IV posted the allegations on Twitter, where he accused Appalachian State freshman Spencer Brown of saying “at least I know my dad.”
Wilson, who is North Carolina A&T’s student body president, also tweeted that Brown made additional offensive remarks.
After a short investigation, Appalachian State announced Brown’s suspension.
“After yesterday’s men’s tennis match, an Appalachian State student-athlete engaged in behavior that was derogatory and offensive,” the statement read. “This student-athlete has been suspended indefinitely from the team, effective immediately, for violating the student-athlete discipline policy.”
The school did not mention Brown by name, but the Winston-Salem State Journal reported that it confirmed Brown’s identity.
The Journal reported that was a four-star recruit out of high school, ranking inside the top 100 of tennisrecruiting.net.
In the tweet, Wilson also alleged that Appalachian State’s tennis coach, later identified as Bob Lake, responded by saying “…we have a black guy on our team.”
The school is said to be looking into the coaches remarks.
Wilson’s tweet has been shared more than 3,000 times. Many people tweeted back at Wilson, showing their support:
John, thank you for making this known, as a parent of a student at App State, I will be writing a letter to the chancellor. I am sorry for what was said to you and for the lack of response by the coach.
— Alix (@idreaminuncblue) January 30, 2018
Others expressed their disapproval for the Appalachian State coaching staff:
According to the Journal, an Appalachian State official said Brown was still enrolled at the school.
The university is doing a full investigation of the incident before any further action is taken, the official told the newspaper.
Wilson later tweeted to thank those who offered him support, adding, “…this is something I’ve always dealt with being a black tennis player.”
