A Colorado Mesa University coach on Thursday apologized for anti-gay remarks made to a former student athlete.
“Unfortunately, we learned that a terrible anti-LGBT comment was likely made during Mr. (Tyler) Dunnington’s time as a Maverick, and I’m sick about it,” said CMU President Tim Foster. “Our university does not tolerate this type of behavior, and we will use this incident as an opportunity to double down on our efforts to promote respect, equality and inclusion on campus and throughout the community.”
Assistant baseball coach Sean McKinney apologized for an anti-gay comment in 2014, saying, “It is not who I am as a person and does not reflect my true character. I spoke directly with Tyler about his experience dealing with homophobic comments throughout his baseball career ... to apologize and want to use this as an opportunity to grow as a coach and a person.”
Foster and McKinney were joined at the news conference by One Colorado executive director Dave Monte.
In consultation with community groups like One Colorado, the CMU Gay Straight Alliance and leaders across campus, the university plans to develop a core working group to develop additional training, awareness, education, and support for students, faculty, and staff on the campus. The primary objective of the group will be to promote a culture where every individual has worth, is shown respect and feels welcome – regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender, ability status, sexual orientation, or transgender status.