The following is a statement issued by the Executive Director of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity, in response to the allegations that University of Florida and Emory ZBTs disrespected military veterans and the American flag.
For more on the disgusting story, read the link and full details below.
“Statement from Laurence Bolotin, Executive Director of Zeta Beta Tau International
Regarding Panama City Beach Incident
Early this week our Fraternity was made aware of reports regarding an incident between several members of two of our chapters and veterans of the Warrior Beach Retreat during independent trips to Panama City Beach. While the details of their actions are still under investigation, there is no doubt that some of our members engaged in ugly and unacceptable behavior. Their actions have no place in ZBT or anywhere, and they will not be tolerated.
On behalf of our entire organization, I want to apologize to veterans, both those who were in Panama City Beach, and those who have felt the pain from afar, as well as to their families and all who support the Warrior Beach Retreat and had worked to make it a positive and meaningful occasion for attendees. I am deeply saddened that the actions of our members ruined this special event and failed to show the respect our military and their families so deserve.
As we continue our investigation, our chapters at the University of Florida and Emory University have suspended all activities and are fully cooperating in our investigation. In addition, we have already expelled three members of ZBT from our organization who we found to have been behaving inappropriately, and we will take any further action necessary as we learn more. Our Fraternity also has issued an apology on behalf of all of our members to the Warrior Beach Retreat, the organization that was hosting the veterans to provide them and their families with the opportunity to relax and recharge.
We are honored that hundreds of our ZBT brothers have served in the military and are disgusted that certain members of our Fraternity failed to exhibit the behaviors we expect from them towards our nation’s heroes — respect, gratitude and honor.
We are committed to fully addressing the events that took place, and will be hiring an independent investigator to help us gather all of the facts. Short-term, we are actively working with the resort, with the Presidents of both universities and with the local police to fully understand the events that took place. In all instances, we have a zero tolerance policy towards this type of behavior and are committed to appropriately disciplining any members of our Fraternity who were involved.
We also look forward to working with our members to make amends for this disgraceful situation by identifying opportunities to serve those who have done so much to serve us.”
There you have it. Three members of ZBT have already been kicked out of the organization, and it’s a safe bet that more severe consequences are on their way. That wasn’t enough to satisfy the anger of some veterans who took the time to post their feelings to Facebook.