According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, players on the Carleton Ravens women’s rugby and hockey teams were made to log out of their team’s Instagram accounts by the university, after sharing an editorial which criticized the school’s promotion of women’s sports games.
The editorial, originally published in the Charlatan, questioned the decision to host the women’s Alerts Cup game against the University of Ottawa in the Ice House on campus. While the men’s game on the next weekend, the Colonel By Classic, was being held at TD Place in Lansdowne Park. The womens game between the two schools that weekend was played at the Minto Ice House at the University of Ottawa.
Multiple players shared the editorial on their personal social media accounts. Carleton Ravens wide receiver Phil Iloki featured in a one minute video clip, which included discussion in response to the editorial, voicing his support.
Others shared screenshots from the Carleton Athletics Instagram account, which highlighted the disparity between the number of posts about men’s and women’s sports games.
Some members of the women’s rugby and hockey teams shared these posts on the Carleton Ravens rugby and women’s hockey Instagram accounts, which they controlled. According to multiple sources, the players who ran the accounts were asked to log out of them by officials at the school.
One source said she was asked to log out after being told she was “bashing our brand” by the school.
According to Beth Gorham, manager of public affairs at Carleton, the posts were taken down because the school’s social media policy outlines that all accounts must be approved by our department as official Ravens accounts.
In response to the complaints from athletes, the university will hold a meeting with varsity athletes that will include members of the Department of Equity and Inclusive Communities and others, according to Beth Gorham, manager of public affairs at Carleton.
“Our goal is to discuss the promotion of our teams moving forward and work together to ensure we have a shared vision,” Gorham wrote in an email.
–More to come.
Feature image from file.
