Princeton's men's swimming and diving team has been suspended from competition for the duration of the 2016-17 season, effective immediately, according to a Princeton University press release.
The decision was made Thursday evening after details surfaced of a series of emails on the team's official listserv that were "vulgar and offensive, as well as misogynistic and racist in nature," the press release read.
"We make clear to all of our student-athletes that they represent Princeton University at all times, on and off the playing surface and in and out of season, and we expect appropriate, respectful conduct from them at all times," Princeton Director of Athletics Mollie Marcoux Samaan said in the statement. "The behavior that we have learned about is simply unacceptable. It is antithetical to the values of our athletic program and of the University, and will not be tolerated."
The team only had three scheduled meets left — a dual meet with Navy on Jan. 7, a tri-meet with Harvard and Yale on Feb. 5 and the Ivy League Championships at the end of February.
Princeton men's swimming has been a top-tier Ivy League team and a nationally-renowned program for the past 40 years, having also been a perennial conference championship winner for decades.
The cancellation of their season also marks a point on a continuing trend of revelations over Ivy League athletic teams and their respective group messages. Harvard men's soccer, Harvard men's cross country and Columbia wrestling have all been punished for similar offenses just in the past six weeks.
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