School spirit may have taken on a whole new meaning at Coastal Carolina University, where members of the school’s cheerleading squad are accused of prostitution, purchasing alcohol for minors and paying others to do their homework.
The entire team has been suspended indefinitely pending an investigation, according to a statement from a university official.
Many of the sordid details were revealed Thursday, when an irate cheer team member spoke to a local news channel.
She told WMBF News the squad had been suspended based on allegations made in an anonymous letter sent to university president Dave DeCenzo on March 7, and in addition to prostitution, delinquency and cheating, the letter outlines “a long list of things” in which the cheerleaders allegedly engaged.
The cheerleader told the news station officers with the school’s Department of Public Safety met the team after practice Wednesday night and questioned team members individually until 11 p.m.
Late Friday afternoon, the team released a statement via Twitter in which it decried the “false” allegations, which at this point appear based solely on the word of a single anonymous letter writer.
“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,” the statement read. “As a team, we ask the community to support us through these tough times as we hope the situation will be cleared up shortly.”
The suspension will prevent the team from performing at a scheduled showcase next week and from competing in a national competition in Florida for which it already had registered and raised money.
In addition to standing in the way of the team’s upcoming competition, the school apparently is trying to erase all memory of the squad. The team’s official site, which used to feature individual photos of the cheerleaders and information about the team, now redirects to the school’s main page for its “spirit” teams.
Asked for comment by The State newspaper, vice president of university communications William Plate Jr. said he could not comment on the ongoing investigation.
“At this time, we can only confirm the suspension,” he said in an email to The State.
Thus far, the weeks-long investigation has produced no incident reports with the school, and the county police have shown no interest in the case.
Regardless, the suspension stands, and the team will not be competing anytime soon, which means if you want to destroy a bunch of college kids’ reputations and dreams, at Coastal Carolina University at least, an anonymous letter will get the job done.