Delaware State University is denouncing the treatment of its women’s lacrosse team after their bus was pulled over by sheriff’s deputies in Georgia and their belongings searched with a drug-sniffing dog.
Sheriff’s deputy: “If there is anything in y’all’s luggage, we’re probably going to find it. OK? I’m not looking for a little bit of marijuana, but I’m pretty sure you guys’s chaperones are probably going to be disappointed in you if we find any.”
The university, which is a historically Black institution, says the team was racially profiled. The stop took place in April as the team drove back to Delaware after a game in Florida.
Delaware State University President Tony Allen said the incident left him feeling “incensed.” He said in a letter to the campus community, “To be clear, nothing illegal was discovered in this search, and all of our coaches and student-athletes comported themselves with dignity throughout a trying and humiliating process.” Allen added, “We do not intend to let this or any other incident like it pass idly by. We are prepared to go wherever the evidence leads us. We have video. We have allies. Perhaps more significantly, we have the courage of our convictions.”