Three Golden Gophers men’s basketball players have been suspended for the remainder of the season for violating team rules.
Sophomore guard Nate Mason, along with freshman guards Kevin Dorsey and Dupree McBrayer, were initially suspended for an undetermined amount of time one hour before the Gophers played Illinois on Sunday night.
The University has cited data privacy in declining to reveal why the players were suspended, but reports from the Star Tribune and The Associated Press link the players to a lewd video posted to Dorsey’s social media accounts.
Dorsey’s post has been deleted from his Twitter and Instagram accounts and the team and players are not commenting on the video.
In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, head coach Richard Pitino said he believes the suspensions are “the best thing for the basketball program as we strive to build a strong and respectful culture each and every day.”
“We do our best to continue to consistently teach, educate and serve all of our student-athletes. It’s a privilege to be a member of the University of Minnesota basketball program – something as a coaching staff we do not take lightly and that we stress daily to our student athletes. In this instance, these student-athletes failed to meet the standards we have set,” the statement continued.
Pitino later told reporters the three players will continue practicing with the Gophers but will not be in uniform for the remaining games. He said no decisions have been made about next season.
"We made a decision to make our program better and to hold the players accountable" – Pitino
— Dawn Mitchell (@DawnAtFOX9) March 1, 2016
Coach Pitino: "I've got their backs, I want them to become better people" re: suspended players
— Katherine Johnson (@KJohnsonTV) March 1, 2016
Players: "tough" "disappointing" on moving forward without 3 suspended players pic.twitter.com/YpRMDMm2kZ
— Katherine Johnson (@KJohnsonTV) March 1, 2016
Interim athletics director Beth Goetz agreed with the suspensions while saying “representing the University of Minnesota comes with great responsibility and we hold all of our student-athletes accountable.”
