Davidson students want baseball player charged with sex assault suspended

DAVIDSON, N.C. — Hours after a 9 investigation exposed charges of sexual battery against a Davidson College baseball player, students demanded he be kicked off the team.

A growing number of students at Davidson College said talking about recent sexual assaults on campus isn’t enough, and they want action.

[LINK: Feb. 8 statement from Davidson College]

Jeneshia Washington-Hughes, a junior at Davidson College, organized a protest Wednesday for George “Ward” Coleman, charged with sexual battery, to be suspended from the college’s baseball team.

“Being an athlete here on campus is a privilege. As an athlete, you’re an ambassador for the college, and we need to put our best foot forward, and we can’t be putting our best foot forward with people accused of these kinds of crimes,” Washington-Hughes told Channel 9.

Coleman is accused of sexually assaulting a fellow student in a campus dorm room.

About 800 people have signed a petition calling on the baseball coach to suspend Coleman from the team until after his trial.

Channel 9 has investigated reports of rape and sexual assault on campus since police arrested Coleman Thursday.

[12 rapes reported at Davidson College this year, according to crime data]

Just this school year, there have been 16 reports of sex crimes on campus, including a dozen rapes.

One victim, who Channel 9 is not identifying, said she was assaulted in August.

“I don’t think this person is necessarily a predator. I think he developed a sense this was an ok thing to do,” she said.

A campus representative told Channel 9 that in most cases, the victim declined to prosecute.

That was the case for the unnamed victim. Instead, she wanted the school to take action.

“He was actually indefinitely suspended from campus, which is the maximum sanction Davidson is willing to impose,” she said.

Channel 9 requested an interview with Davidson's president, Carol Quillen, but was not given the opportunity to ask her about what leaders are doing in response to recent sexual assaults.

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