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University of Maryland suspends tennis team over racist graphic in tournament materials

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 6 outlets across the spectrum.

7 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

The University of Maryland said it has indefinitely suspended its club tennis team after a graphic was included in materials for a regional tournament in College Park. Breitbart and Townhall describe the image as Ku Klux Klan imagery. The Guardian, citing WUSA9, says it was an altered Maryland state flag with Klan hoods. Toni Rachal, president of Howard University’s club tennis team, reported spotting the image in a Google document sent to participating schools. The Maryland team later apologized, calling the image abhorrent and saying it failed to identify and remove it, and it forfeited its matches. The Guardian says it remains unclear how the image entered the tournament materials.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. The University of Maryland said it indefinitely suspended its club tennis team over a racist graphic in tournament materials.

    Reported byLeft3Center1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    NBC News, TheGrio, The Guardian
    Center
    Newsweek
    Far Right
    Breitbart News, Townhall

  2. The graphic was shared in a Google document sent to participating teams before a weekend tournament in College Park.

    Reported byLeft3Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    NBC News, TheGrio, The Guardian
    Far Right
    Breitbart News, Townhall

  3. Toni Rachal, president of Howard University’s club tennis team, reported spotting the image, according to WUSA9.

    One outletThe Guardian· Left

  4. The Maryland club team apologized, calling the image abhorrent and saying it failed to identify and remove it.

    One outletNBC News· Left

  5. The Maryland club team forfeited its matches in the tournament.

    One outletNBC News· Left

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • Members of the Maryland club created the image.

    Breitbart says members created the program; Townhall says members disseminated the imagery online; the team’s apology says it failed to identify and remove the image, and The Guardian says how it entered the materials remains unclear.

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that the University of Maryland suspended its club tennis team over a racist graphic in tournament materials. The difference is emphasis: the left and center focus on the school’s response and the team’s apology, while the right stresses the Klan imagery and says members created it.

  • the left

    3 outlets

    Left headlines name the suspension and the racist imagery, with NBC and The Guardian stressing the image was sent to other schools or the team’s apology, and TheGrio centering the Howard president’s condemnation.

    University of Maryland club tennis team suspended over racist imagery sent to other schools
    The GuardianLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    Newsweek’s headline centers the university’s reaction, quoting its ‘horrified’ response and using the more dramatic verb ousted for the suspension.

    University of Maryland 'Horrified' as Tennis Team Loaded verb“Ousted”Ousted suggests removal from a position, while the article’s own description and excerpt say the team was suspended.More neutral: suspendedDisagree with this highlight? Over Racist Image
    NewsweekCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    2 outlets

    Right-side headlines foreground the KKK imagery and the suspension, and Far Right Breitbart says members created the program, a claim the other coverage does not make.

    University of Maryland Suspends Tennis Club After Members Created Program with KKK Imagery
    Breitbart NewsFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center1

    Ousted

  • Right0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    OustedMore neutral: suspended

    Ousted suggests removal from a position, while the article’s own description and excerpt say the team was suspended.

    University of Maryland 'Horrified' as Tennis Team Ousted Over Racist Image

    Used byNewsweek (Center)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

3 outlets

Leads with

  • the image sent to other schools
  • the team’s apology
  • condemnation from Howard
See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • NBC NewsLeft

    University of Maryland club tennis team apologizes for sharing ‘abhorrent’ racist imagery

    The club tennis team at the University of Maryland apologized for sending a racist graphic as a part of materials for an upcoming tournament at the school.

    Read at NBC News (opens in a new tab)
    1 more from NBC News
  • The GuardianLeft

    University of Maryland club tennis team suspended over racist imagery sent to other schools

    Image of state flag incorporating KKK hoods was sent to other schools participating in regional tennis tournament The University of Maryland (UMD) has indefinitely suspended its club tennis team after a graphic featuring Ku Klux Klan imagery was circulated to other universities …

    Read at The Guardian (opens in a new tab)
  • TheGrioLeft

    Howard interim president calls Maryland tennis imagery ‘rooted in hatred and racial violence’

    The University of Maryland suspended its club tennis program indefinitely after racist images were distributed in materials for a weekend

    Read at TheGrio (opens in a new tab)

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • the university’s reaction
  • the suspension
  • the racist image
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines
  • NewsweekCenter

    University of Maryland 'Horrified' as Tennis Team Loaded verb“Ousted”Ousted suggests removal from a position, while the article’s own description and excerpt say the team was suspended.More neutral: suspendedDisagree with this highlight? Over Racist Image

    The University of Maryland's club tennis team has been suspended for distributing racist imagery, school officials said Tuesday.

    Read at Newsweek (opens in a new tab)

From the right

2 outlets

Leads with

  • KKK imagery
  • members created the program
  • the suspension

Leaves out

  • the team’s apology

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 2 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • TownhallFar Right

    This University's Tennis Team Was Suspended for Sharing 'KKK' Imagery

    The University of Maryland club tennis team has been suspended after some of its members disseminated racist imagery online in the lead-up to a weekend tournament in College Park.

    Read at Townhall (opens in a new tab)
  • Breitbart NewsFar Right

    University of Maryland Suspends Tennis Club After Members Created Program with KKK Imagery

    The University of Maryland has suspended its tennis club after members of the group passed out a Google document that had racist images.

    Read at Breitbart News (opens in a new tab)

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    19 hr 26 min later

    Its first report, Oct 13, 9:34 AM EDT

  • Center

    1 day 3 hr later

    Its first report, Oct 13, 5:40 PM EDT

  • Right

    First to report

    Breitbart News, Oct 12, 2:08 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Breitbart NewsFar RightOct 12, 2:08 PM EDT
  2. NBC NewsLeftOct 13, 9:34 AM EDT
  3. TownhallFar RightOct 13, 11:30 AM EDT
  4. TheGrioLeftOct 13, 12:26 PM EDT
  5. NewsweekCenterOct 13, 5:40 PM EDT
  6. The GuardianLeftOct 14, 5:46 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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