Coastal Carolina University has suspended its cheerleading squad while it conducts an investigation into a series of allegations made in what one member of the team said was an anonymous letter.
This letter, the unnamed cheerleader told Myrtle Beach’s WMBF News, alleges “a long list of things,” including prostitution, purchasing alcohol for minors and academic dishonesty.
The cheerleader added that the squad found out about the letter Wednesday night, when an investigator with the university’s public safety department came to practice to question the athletes. The cheerleader said they were then questioned by Horry County police, who searched team members’ phones and concluded they “did nothing wrong,” WMBF reports.
While the police in Myrtle Beach confirmed to WMBF they are not pursuing further investigation, the school confirmed to Deadspin that it is. CCU officials, however, declined to elaborate on the specifics of the investigation, including whether it was sparked by an anonymous letter.
“At this time, I can only confirm the Coastal Carolina University cheerleading team has been suspended indefinitely pending a conduct investigation,” the statement said.
The suspended squad has decided to let the investigation play out.
“At this point in time, we no longer wish to be contacted about the current situation,” the team said in a statement posted to Twitter on Friday. “The false accusations have led to harassment on campus as well as through social media, and are beginning to negatively impact our daily lives as well as our studies. As a team we ask the community to support us through these tough times as we hope the situation will be cleared up shortly.”
With the school refusing to issue a timeline for the investigation, the team’s future remains unclear. As of now, the team has had to cancel a planned trip to Florida to take part in a national competition in April, according to Deadspin. The school, meanwhile, appears to have canceled a national cheer competition it planned to host next week.
(c) 2017, The Washington Post ยท Marissa Payne
