Two UW rowers
kicked off team for antigay vandalism

University of Washington men's crew coach Bob Ernst has thrown two rowers off his team after they admitted painting an antigay slur on a fence outside a teammate's home. The two rowers were not identified. "An inappropriate word was painted on a fence" in front of the 19-year-old's house, and Ernst "took some very quick action and elected to remove those members for violating team rules," Marie Tuite, the Seattle university's senior associate athletic director, told The Seattle Times on Tuesday. The incident involving the nonvarsity rowers occurred the night of March 25, when the Huskies' best crews were in California at a regatta. Athletic director Todd Turner, citing privacy regulations, refused to identify the disciplined rowers or their year at the university. A police report said the victim suspected he was targeted because he was ill and missed a crew practice the previous morning. The victim also told police he had been outspoken about some of the hazing that freshmen undergo on the team. (AP)