Appalachian State tennis player suspended indefinitely for racist remarks during match
An App State freshman and coach have been suspended as a result of insensitive conduct
An Appalachian State freshman tennis player has been suspended indefinitely following a racially-charged remark made to an opponent during a recent match.
Following a decisive victory over North Carolina A&T senior player John Wilson, App State's Spencer Brown was accused of making derogatory comments at Wilson, who is black.
Wilson, who also serves as senior class president at A&T, took to Twitter after the match to call out Brown and share details about his racist remarks. Wilson also claimed that one of App State's coaches brushed off the incident, saying racism was implausible because "we have a black guy on our team."
Hey #NCAT this is Spencer brown, a tennis player at Appalachian state. During our match today, along with other racist comments, Spencer told me, “At least I know my dad.” Their coach responded by saying, “..we have a black guy on our team.”
— John Wilson IV (@jpheze) January 29, 2018
Black twitter, do ya thing. pic.twitter.com/ZRN61zCU2n
After looking into the claims, Appalachian State determined that Wilson's claims were accurate, and the school released a statement announcing an indefinite suspension for Brown.
"After yesterday's men's tennis match, an Appalachian State student-athlete engaged in behavior that was derogatory and offensive. This student-athlete has been suspended indefinitely from the team, effective immediately, for violating the student-athlete discipline policy. We have reached out to #NCAT to convey our apologies on behalf of Appalachian Athletics and the university for the conduct of this member of the team."
The investigation also determined that App State head coach Doug Lake was the coach who brushed off Brown during the match and, on Tuesday, announced that he would serve a four-match suspension as a result. App State athletic director Doug Gillin released a statement following Lake's suspension, saying "the conduct displayed on Sunday does not reflect the values of our tennis program, department and university."
The school also announced that they have enlisted a third-party to investigate the levels of inclusion and diversity within the athletic department.
















