Members of the Ball State University men's basketball coaching staff found notes that included racial slurs in the basketball office over the weekend, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Tom Collins announced Wednesday.
Tony Proudfoot, associate vice president for Marketing and Communications, said a total of seven notes with the words "nigger," "liar" and "cheater" written on them were found at about 8 a.m. Sunday. One note was slid under head coach Ronny Thompson's door, one was slid under the director of basketball operations door, and one was slid under each of the three assistant coaches' doors. A note was also found on the office secretary's desk, and another was found in the office copy area.
Gene Burton, director of public safety at Ball State, said he has assigned University Police officers to work specifically on the case. Those responsible for the incident could face misdemeanor or felony charges for harassment and trespassing and could face six months to a year or more in prison or jail, he said.
President Jo Ann Gora said if faculty, staff or students were involved in the incident, she would move to terminate or expel them.
"Nobody who thinks this act is acceptable should be a student or employee of the campus," Gora said, adding she has not seen a similar incident take place in more than 25 years in higher education.
Collins, who was in Europe on vacation Sunday, said he was sickened by the incident when he first received e-mail notification from Thompson. Thompson was on vacation and unavailable for comment. Numerous calls that were put into members of Thompson's coaching staff Wednesday night were unreturned.
"I wouldn't want this to happen to anybody," Collins said, adding that the incident makes it more difficult for the university to create an environment in which coaches and student athletes can be successful.
Several members of the men's and women's basketball programs, as well as custodial staff, have keys to the basketball office. The locks to the office were changed following the incident, Collins said. Collins also mentioned the possibility that the door could have been inadvertently left unlocked by the athletic department staff.
Burton declined to comment on whether police have identified any suspects, but Collins said police have increased patrols around the basketball office to ensure the basketball staff's safety. He also wouldn't speculate as to how many people might be involved in the incident.
In addition to the notes, staff members found copies of the June 14 Daily News posted on the walls in Irving Gym and the hallway leading to Worthen Arena. The issue featured coverage of the program's NCAA violations and Proudfoot said he believes the copies were posted by the same suspects that left the notes in the men's basketball office.
Thompson's staff attended off-season workouts and "open gym" in late May, violating the same NCAA rule for the second time in his first year at Ball State. The Cardinals finished last season with a 9-21 record.
President Gora assigned two Ball State counseling psychologists to conduct a climate assessment, which will determine whether racism is a problem in the athletic department. The psychologists will conduct interviews with people within the department covering how safe they feel and what instances of racism they have witnessed.
Gora said she sent an e-mail explaining the incident and the university's response to all members of the university community Wednesday afternoon.
"This is a totally unacceptable act, and it shouldn't be tolerated," she said.
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