Folks familiar with the University of North Dakota women’s hockey team are up in arms over the university’s president decision to cut the team. It isn’t just because the announcement came after the school promised they were done with sports cuts (both swimming teams also got the chopping block); it’s thanks to President Mark Kennedy’s remarks about the university team that’s sent a whopping eight players to the 2014 Olympic games.
ThinkProgress reports:
Earlier this week, UND women’s hockey head coach Brian Idalski met with UND President Mark Kennedy to see what, if anything, could be done to save the program. Rumors quickly spread on the internet that the meeting did not go well.
“It’s definitely over,” a message board comment read, reporting that Kennedy told Idalski, “Women’s hockey is a boutique sport and never should have been at UND.”
Screenshot of the message board:
The ‘boutique sport’ remark is especially offensive considering that the men’s hockey team was not cut. Whether he intended to say it or not, he is saying that hockey—simply due to the gender of the women playing—becomes ‘boutique.’
President Kennedy doesn’t deny using that term yet the school insists his remarks were taken out of context.
In an attempt to verify this comment, ThinkProgress reached out to Kennedy and UND on Thursday. Kennedy seems to have disconnected his public office number, and the operators for UND’s public switchboard did not pick up, even during business hours. But Peter B. Johnson, UND’s Interim Vice President for University & Public Affairs, responded to our request by email.
Johnson suggested the comment has been taken out of context, but did not deny the accuracy of the quote itself.
While the women’s hockey wasn’t specifically targeted, the players and alumni felt that the situation could have been handled with more respect and care. Any team would be upset to get their team cut due to budget concerns. Apparently, the president has been virtually MIA since the announcement, leaving other university to speak in his stead.
While it seems that the cut is definitely happening, there is one last glimmer of hope: a Title IX lawsuit. It’s unknown whether that avenue will be sought.