University rugby team suspended over offensive chant about sex with a dead prostitute

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The University of Mary Washington has suspended activities for its men's rugby team after officials there said an audio recording captured some team members chanting a song with lyrics that seemed to condone abuse toward women and even necrophilia. 

In an email to the university community on March 19, president Rick Hurley said the school imposed sanctions because the team's actions violated its code of conduct for club sports.

According to the school, the recording featured several team members at an off-campus party at the end of the fall semester. Officials say the chant contained sexually explicit, derogatory and violent language.

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Sick: The University of Mary Washington rugby club has been indefinitely suspended after a recording of members singing a song about raping a dead prostitute leaked online

'Finally found a whore,' begins the call and response song. ' She was right and dead...Well g** d*** son of a b**** we're gonna get it in!'

The November 2014 incident was recorded by a male partygoer--sans video--with a phone and uploaded to YouTube, Jezebel reports. It was soon reported to the administrations.

In the months thereafter, the school's chapter of Feminists United got involved, with their president Paige McKinsey writing an opinion piece in the school paper when the club decided initial sanctions against the team weren't enough.

'As soon as Feminists United started affecting change on campus, we were faced with aggression and hatred,' McKinsey wrote, saying the group was attacked anonymously through the app Yik Yak.

The group perservered, however, and in early March, they publicly released a transcript of the chant.

With still no response, the group took things a step further by releasing audio of the chant to several news outlets on March 18.

That same day, President Hurley informed the team of their punishment.

Some students have been exposed to the 'offensive and lurid lyrics due to posting by others on social media,' Hurley wrote. 

Feminists United: The UMW Feminists United chapter fought for the team to be punished. They were targeted by members of the student body, who attacked them through the anonymous app Yik Yak

'No student on our campus should feel unsafe, ostracized, or threatened,' Hurley continued. 'We pride ourselves on being a diverse, accepting, caring community, and we must live up to that ideal.' 

Other sanctions imposed at the beginning of the semester were appealed and upheld. In addition, the team must participate in sensitivity training and education sessions.

Messages left for the contact listed for the rugby team through the school's website and a campus women's rights group were not immediately returned.

The incident at the Fredericksburg school follows recent news of a fraternity at the University of Oklahoma that was disbanded after its members were caught on video engaging in a racist chant. Last week, North Carolina State University also disbanded a fraternity chapter after the discovery of a notebook filled with sexist and racially offensive entries in a restaurant off campus.

The University of Mary Washington was founded in 1908 and has about 4,000 undergraduate students. 

Censured: The school administration doubled down on an earlier censure of the rugby club by suspending their activities indefinitely and requiring them to attend sexual assault education courses