University of Maryland club tennis team suspended over racist imagery sent to other schools

Image of state flag incorporating KKK hoods was sent to other schools participating in regional tennis tournament The University of Maryland (UMD) has indefinitely suspended its club tennis team after a graphic featuring Ku Klux Klan imagery was circulated to other universities ahead of a regional tournament, prompting widespread condemnation. The controversy erupted after Toni Rachal, president of Howard University’s club tennis team, spotted the offensive material in a shared Google document sent to participating schools before last weekend’s tournament, WUSA9 reported. The graphic features an altered Maryland state flag incorporating images of Ku Klux Klan hoods.

Rachal discovered the image while examining a Google document that had been emailed to the tournament’s participating tennis clubs. In a letter addressed to UMD, Rachal described the imagery as “associated with racial hatred and intimidation” and called for “meaningful accountability” following the incident, WUSA9 reported. The tennis club at Howard, an HBCU in Washington DC, released a statement on social media describing the image as “a recognizable symbol associated with the Ku Klux Klan”. It questioned how