GOUTHAM Sundaram, an Indian American student at University of Portland, was reportedly removed from the tennis team for making a misogynistic speech at the university’s fifth annual Wally Awards, a sports banquet.
Sundaram spoke about his quest to "get white women to sleep with brown men" while hosting the awards.
He opened the speech saying he was going to "get real and make the stage his locker room," according to a column in the university’s student newspaper by Olivia Sanchez, a student who attended the sports banquet.
The university’s president, Rev. Mark Poorman, said he was "appalled" by Sundaram’s "shocking and offensive" comments. "I apologize to all of you that this occurred," Poorman said in a statement. "Clearly, we have continuing work to do to educate and raise consciousness," Poorman added.
According to the New York Post, Sundaram’s speech was about his four years of college where his main goal was "not academic or even athletic, but sexual: to get white women to sleep with brown men." He also touched upon his family and said his parents’ decision to the United States would be worth it if he could "hook up with a white girl".
The tennis player also made a reference to Mahatma Gandhi, saying that he "didn’t fast for 20 days so that I could get to America and not sleep with white women."
Sundaram later sent an email apology. "The night is meant to celebrate the excellence of student athletes and I would like to apologize if I made any people uncomfortable," he said.
He further noted: “The words I spoke should have no place in history, they should have no place in today, and more importantly I commit to ensuring they have no part in our future. I hope to become a better classmate, friend, son, brother, and person through this process,” he said.
Karan Johar and Smriti Irani