Howard University Suspends All Athletics

In an article published by the Washington City Paper, Howard University announced that effective immediately they will be suspending all athletic teams for what appears to be violations of NCAA rules. University spokeswoman Kerry-Ann Hamilton released this statement.

It is with great regret that we have temporarily suspended intercollegiate athletic competition. This is a self-imposed action while the University conducts a review. We are working quickly to resolve this issue.

It looks good on the part of Howard that they are self-imposing this suspension. However, one has to wonder what kind of rules violation is going on when all athletic teams have to suspend all activities. There is potential that the rules violations could be widespread and that's why this decision was made by the university.

There are no details out at this time as to why Howard is taking this course of action but as they are revealed they will be passed along.

Howard had two softball matches scheduled against Coppin State later this week. Howard was also scheduled to play Weslyan in lacrosse next week. There is no word of whether those games have been postponed or cancelled.

A Howard athlete contacted by the City Paper gave this cryptic answer:

"This whole situation is frustrating, and it shows how things within athletics need to be reformed and fixed. Many athletes have had their eligibility taken away and that has affected many sports dramatically. This needs to serve as a learning experience for both the athletes and the department."