Shutterstock
Stanford Universty has issued an apology after an image on Twitter a whiteboard drawing that depicted the Stanford Cardinal mascot shooting the University of Nebraska mascot, a Cornhusker.
On Saturday, December 15, the Stanford Cardinal volleyball team faced off against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship, coming away victorious by winning the fifth and final set by a score of 15-12. After their victory, the NCAA Twitter account posted photographs of the Cardinal team running into their locker room.
In the background of one of the photos, the university’s tree-shaped mascot is seen pulling a gun on the University of Nebraska mascot. Above the drawing, the phrase “hell to the Huskers” can be seen, which is a reference to the Nebraska Cornhusker mascot.
In a statement released on Sunday, December 16, Stanford Athletic Director Bernard Muir released a statement saying that “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. We regret detracting from what was otherwise a great night for the sport of women’s volleyball,” Athletic Director Muir’s statement continued.
Shutterstock
The image and tweet were soon deleted after Twitter users were critical of the violent cartoon in the background.
“I definitely found it surprising. Distasteful comes to mind. I don’t think that, you know, you’d probably see that happen in the Nebraska locker room. But, definitely surprised,” University of Nebraska fan Cruz Longoria told 1011now.