As the Stanford women's volleyball team celebrated its national championship over the weekend, the university is taking heat for a sketch on a whiteboard inside the team’s locker room.
Critics say the sketch that shows a gun pointed at the opposing mascot went too far. Stanford Director of Athletics Bernard Muir issued an apology.
"The image in the background of the picture is unacceptable and does not reflect the values of Stanford University. We have reached out to our colleagues at Nebraska to express our sincerest apologies to the university and its women’s volleyball program," Muir said.
The Cardinal took five sets to defeat the University of Nebraska in the NCAA volleyball title game Saturday. Then, just 5 seconds into their celebration, the victory was tarnished. After Stanford players headed into the locker room to celebrate, someone took a photo of the sketch and posted it on social media.
The sketch depicts the Stanford tree pointing a gun at Nebraska‘s mascot.
The social post was taken down after a few minutes, but it was up long enough for Nebraska fans to see it.
"I think given the current climate, making gun references is in poor taste." Palo Alto resident George Kadifa said.
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But others say no apology is necessary. They consider the drawing harmless.
"I'm not overly sensitive about that," said Chuck Fuery of Palo Alto. "Really, it's not a real gun; it's just a metaphor."
