Monmouth U. Investigates Homophobic Taunts At Basketball Game

WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ — Monmouth University is investigating reports of homophobic behavior from fans at Saturday's men's basketball game. A photo shows fans holding up pictures of an opponent's Tinder profile, as someone holds a sign saying 'Stick to GRINDR.'

A photo of the incident circulated online last weekend. Monmouth University President Patrick Leahy promised an investigation. Patch was unable to find the original social media post with the image, but some publications have posted the photo.

"Please be assured that we are working swiftly to gather additional details and to directly address the behavior of those involved," Leahy said Sunday in a letter to the campus community.

The incident took place at OceanFirst Bank Center, where Siena defeated Monmouth, 86-72.

According to social-media reports, members of the student section displayed copies of one a Siena player's Tinder profile as the team returned to the floor in the second half. In the back of the group, someone holds a large whiteboard over their head that says, "Stick to GRINDR."

Grindr is a dating and meetup app geared toward gay, bi and trans people.

Monmouth hosted two Pride Nights just days earlier — Feb. 27's women's basketball game and Wednesday's men's game.

Hawks women's tennis captain Caroline Mattise organized the pride events. She recently wrote about coming out and organizing Pride Night on OutSports.

"Obviously, not everything was easy, or positive," Mattise wrote. "There was some resistance, but the athlete part of me used that resistance to grow stronger. Here we are, days away from my school’s first Pride Night. I feel proud to be a part of it."

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