Seven Bowling Green players were suspended indefinitely Tuesday, Oct. 19, after coach Scott Paluch was shown a photo of a nude player with profanity and racial slurs written on his body, apparently done as part of a hazing prank.
Paluch suspended Ryan Barnett, Steve Brudzewski, Bryan Dobek, Mike Falk, Don Morrison, Brett Pilkington and Alex Rogosheske for violating team policy. The players will miss this weekend’s games, after which their status is unknown.
Paluch and athletic director Paul Krebs held a news conference to announce the suspensions, but refused to elaborate or discuss the photo.
The Sentinel-Tribune reported that it received a photo showing an unnamed Bowling Green player, apparently unconscious, face down, with profanity and racial slurs written with a marker on his body. The photo, taken in April 2003 according to the Toledo Blade, had been sent from someone in Canada, with no return address.
The photo showed eight men, five of whom are current players. The reason for suspension of the other two players was unclear.
“It’s unacceptable. We’ll get to the bottom of it,” Paluch told the Sentinel-Tribune.
Rogosheske, the team captain, and Brudzewski are seniors, the other five players are juniors. Bowling Green started the season 2-0 and hosts Lake Superior State Friday.
“We’re still trying to ascertain all the facts,” Krebs told the Blade. “I don’t know that that is important right now; what’s important is our values and what we stand for as a hockey team, athletic department and university, and trying to protect our program and our university.
“Any violation of the student judicial code means that is a possibility. There is still fact-finding going on, but the folks in Student Judicial Affairs are aware of the situation, and we have been working with them this afternoon.”
