Oct. 13, 2006

GREELEY, Colo. - The University of Northern Colorado Department of Athletics issued a public statement on Friday regarding an incident and statements made by football student-athlete Jacob Carlson, as reported by Greeley Police.

Carlson was suspended from the team indefinitely on Monday for an off-campus incident on Sunday, Oct. 8, that was reported to the Department of Athletics as an unprovoked assault. Greeley Police reported on Thursday that Carlson had made racially offensive statements prior to the altercation.

"We do not tolerate that type of behavior or language from any of our student-athletes," Director of Athletics Jay S. Hinrichs said. "We will always take swift action to send a strong message that disrespectful behavior has no place in our university community. Jacob Carlson's comments in no way reflect the thoughts and views of the Northern Colorado Department of Athletics. As a department, we are committed to diversity and will continue to go through extensive training with our student-athletes, coaches and staff."

Head football coach Scott Downing said he and his staff talk with student-athletes about being responsible members of our community. "That includes how they behave in our community and toward the members of our community," he said. "We do not tolerate discriminatory comments on or off the field. We will continue to reinforce the topic of respect toward everyone our student-athletes come into contact with."

"We're not going to stop at saying this is unacceptable," University of Northern Colorado President Kay Norton said. "We are committed to changing the climate of our campus community."

A multi-year campus-wide diversity initiative is under way at Northern Colorado. Diversity consultants have been facilitating meetings with campus organizations and focus groups over the past month.

"It's not just about enforcing rules or threatening people with the law," Norton said. "We want to change the culture so we're addressing disrespectful behavior before it creates a larger problem."