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CLU softball team accused of blackface All sides say admin response misses the mark
by Kimberly Rivers kimberly@vcreporter.com
OThe women’s softball team and three of its coaches at California Lutheran University (CLU) have retained legal counsel in the wake of a string of actions by CLU President Chris Kimball and other administrators following two controversial social media posts by students on two different athletic teams.
“We will be suing the university for defamation, portrayal in a false light, among other causes of action,” said Michael Saltz, a partner with the Los Angeles-based firm of Jacobson, Russell, Saltz and Fingerman. He confirmed that he represents all 24 players on the CLU Women’s Softball team and three of their coaches, who have been placed on administrative leave. He said that there are also employment issues involved in the case.
Saltz said CLU administration mischaracterized a team activity as “blackface,” which has led to the players receiving death threats and harassment.
According to an email sent to the VCReporter by Saltz, assistant coach DeAnn Young “is in utter shock that the administration actually thought that she, an African American woman, would ever allow a blackface incident to occur right in front of her by her own players.” The attorney added that Young is “understandably upset, not only for how the CLU administration has treated her during this incident, but also for how CLU has used this incident bella Breda, The Echo, Feb. 5, 2020).
The incidents have fueled racial tensions at the college, where CLU students of color and some faculty report that the administration has failed for years to address diversity and race issues on campus.
Kimball responded to the incidents with an email sent out on Feb. 5 to all faculty, staff and students. “Two racist incidents involving social media posts by Cal Lutheran students occurred in the last week. The university condemns any form of speech, action or expression that dehumanizes, belittles or degrades any person,” stated Kimball in the email. “Blackface and the N-word evoke white supremacy, anti-black
— Maria Reyes, senior at CLU, senator in the Associated Students of CLU Government, vice president of Together We Dream
to pit students against one another in the name of race based on something that never happened.”
Saltz went on to say that no one from CLU contacted Young about the “alleged incident” prior to her being placed on leave. Saltz being retained follows a string of events brought to light by an email from Kimball to staff, faculty and students.
On Feb. 5, the CLU campus newspaper, The Echo, reported on a screen recording of a Snapchat in which a white female CLU athlete said “Nah, [N-word].” The recording was later shared on Twitter. The Echo’s story included a link to the video, which was still active on Twitter on Feb. 12, but was no longer live by Feb. 13. The story also included reports about another video and photographs, posted a few days before on Instagram — and taken down shortly thereafter — of female athletes from another CLU team (later learned to be the softball team) “that appeared to be blackface.” (“Studentathletes involved in racist incidents,” Isa
6 — — February 20, 2020 ness and remind us that a violent, racist past is still with us today.” The email further stated that those “who are responsible will be held accountable.”
The mention of blackface in Kimball’s email was the first time the wider campus community had heard about that incident. Maria Reyes, a senior at CLU who serves as a senator in the Associated Students of CLU Government and is vice president with the campus club Together We Dream, a support group for first-generation and undocumented students, said that until students saw that Feb. 5 email, no one on campus knew anything about an incident involving blackface.
Reyes has not seen the alleged blackface but said those who have described the players as “dressed up as black artists.” Reyes said she’s heard about the softball team getting an attorney and claiming they are being “slandered,” but she thinks that, based on everything happening on campus, “Yeah, that’s blackface, you are participating in blackface.” She had spent time speak
ing with students of the Black Student Union (BSU) and Sister’s Circle, a group for black women on campus, and that it really “opened [her] eyes” to what black students deal with at CLU. Reyes had heard about female students being called the n-word in the campus parking lot for getting a parking place before another driver, or people touching a black student’s braids.
According to a spokesperson for the softball team, a letter dated Feb. 6, in which athletes describe the incident and clarify what it was supposed to be, was sent to the athletic director. It is intended to be sent out to the CLU student body, but has not been sent yet.
“We acted from a place of ignorance and had no intention to cause any sort of harm,” stated the letter submitted to CLU Athletic Director Dan Kuntz. The letter describes a “series of photos and videos featuring different costumes from a team building activity” and that some were perceived as “racially insensitive.” The students drew beards on their faces and explained that when viewed in photographs it may look like blackface. “We acknowledge the place of privilege we come from and accept the harm we have caused to many and we apologize profusely.”
When asked what the university could do now, Saltz said, “First thing, [they] have to issue a retraction and tell the truth, there was no blackface incident, end of story.” He said that the administration would need to apologize to the players, coaches and families “publicly and privately . . . absent the retraction and apology, we have nothing to combat the permanent stain they have left on these people’s careers and lives.”
Leadership with the CLU Black Student Union (BSU) declined to comment or be interviewed for this story. Kimball was unavailable to respond to questions.
Students walkout and speak out
On Wednesday, Feb. 12, about 100 CLU students participated in a walkout during class to protest what students say is a failed response by school officials to address the racist incidents. They marched into the administration building chanting about the students involved being named and expelled.
“They want to enroll black and brown bodies . . . but don’t want to see our culture,” said Reyes about why she and other students planned the walkout. The BSU and Sister’s Circle participated in the event.
As part of the student response, various groups are working together to produce short videos of students who have experienced racism on campus. “We’re doing this as more proof to the administration that racist acts happen more often than they think, or liked to admit, and they cannot keep shrugging these incidents away,” said Reyes in a written statement to faculty. “We ask that the students who acted in the recent acts of hate be prevented from going to class and participating in other CLU-sponsored extracurricular activities effective immediately, and ultimately be removed from this campus as students . . . California Lutheran University must stand in unity with our black students.”
Kimball announced last October that he would be stepping down and the board of regents would be forming a committee to find his replacement.
On Feb. 14, the chair of the CLU board of regents issued a statement which said, “We realize now that we did not put enough of a focus on the diversity” of the selection committee and announced that two board members, Randall Foster and Bill Camarillo, will be joining the selection committee and that the Black Employees Association and Staff Development Committee will be working together to choose two more members. That committee will also receive training to ensure the hiring process focuses on “equity-minded competencies.” ♦
Students, faculty and staff are invited to a forum, Cal Lutheran’s Racial Climate with Dr. Shaun Harper, on Monday, Feb. 24, 3-5 p.m., at Gilbert Arena. Harper is the executive director of the University of California’s Race and Equity Center.
