In addition to the reinstatement of the 10 players, the Gophers demanded that their athletic director, Mark Coyle, and the school’s president, Eric Kaler, be “held accountable for their actions.” According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the players believe that Coyle and Kaler ordered the suspensions, following a university probe into a September incident in which a woman claimed to have been sexually assaulted by multiple players.

“We, the united Gopher football team, issue the statement to take back the reputation and integrity of our program and our brothers that have faced unjust Title IX investigation without due process,” senior wide receiver Drew Wolitarsky said while reading a prepared statement. “We are concerned that our brothers have been named publicly with reckless disregard in violation of their constitutional rights. We are now compelled to speak for our team and take back our program.”

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Wolitarsky read the statement while standing in front of dozens of Gophers, possibly the entire team, at Minnesota’s practice field. He said that the announced boycott came in the wake of a “disappointing meeting” with Coyle. “We wanted answers, but received misleading statements,” the wide receiver added.

At issue is the players’ belief that the suspensions are unfair because the alleged incident of sexual assault had been investigated by the police with no charges being filed. The woman making the accusations filed a restraining order against five of the suspended players but reached a court settlement in November.

However, the father of Ray Buford Jr., one of the suspended players, told reporters that the university’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action had been doing its own investigation, and that spurred the suspensions. In addition to Buford, the 10 players include Carlton Djam, Seth Green, KiAnte Hardin, Dior Johnson, Tamarion Johnson, Kobe McCrary, Antonio Shenault, Mark Williams and Antoine Winfield Jr.

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“We got no answers to our questions about why these kids were suspended when they were just found not guilty by the law,” Wolitarsky said. “So when we had questions for [Coyle] he basically told us that he didn’t have answers and that led us to believe that this is unjust. He has the power to reverse this, and he won’t.”

Following the players’ announcement, Coyle and Kaler issued a joint a statement:

“We understand that a lot of confusion and frustration exists as a result of this week’s suspension of 10 Gopher Football players from all team activities. The reality is that not everyone can have all of the facts, and unfortunately the University cannot share more information due to federal laws regarding student privacy. We fully support our Gopher football players and all of our student-athletes. Situations like this are always difficult and the decision was made in consultation with and has the full support of President Eric Kaler. The decision was based on facts and is reflective of the University’s values. We want to continue an open dialogue with our players and will work to do that over the coming days. It’s important that we continue to work together as we move through this difficult time.

The father of Winfield said his son will leave Minnesota if Coyle and Kaler remain in their jobs. “I think it was injustice how they took this young lady’s … statement, came to this conclusion to suspend these 10 young men,” Antoine Winfield Sr., who was present for Thursday’s announcement, said (via Minnesota Daily).

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The woman, who has been working as a member of the Gophers’ game-day operations staff, testified in court that she’d been drinking before ending up at Djam’s apartment and having a sexual encounter with him, during which she “felt very overpowered and fearful.” She said “multiple sexual assaults” involving other players occurred after that, while she was “frozen with fear.”

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Under questioning from Lee Hutton, an attorney for several of the players, the woman acknowledged that she had told police investigators after the alleged incident that her encounter with Djam was consensual. “I did say that,” the woman testified. “I do not believe it was true.”

Hutton, who represents several of the players, has said that he will appeal all of the suspensions, but is concerned that the process won’t play out in time for the Gophers’ scheduled participation in the Holiday Bowl. Hutton said (via the Star Tribune) that the EOAA recommended expulsions for five of the players, including Buford and Djam, one-year suspensions for four and probation for another.

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“We note that the Holiday Bowl Committee, Washington State and the fans are affected by this decision,” Wolitarsky said in his statement. “To that end, we respectively request that the Holiday Bowl Committee be patient during this time, while Mark Coyle considers reversing his decision to suspend.”

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When asked if the players were concerned that their boycott might cost them their athletic scholarships, Wolitarsky told reporters, “We’re all in this together. What are they going to do, pull 120 guys off the team? They won’t have a team if that’s the case.”

Minnesota players also took to Twitter to express solidarity, using the hashtag, #WeHadEnough.

https://twitter.com/GIVE_87/status/809458377273331712