Westminster College Athletic Director Says School Fully Supports Basketball Player Targeted By Sign

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The athletic director at Westminster College is speaking out after what happened during a women's basketball game over the weekend against Washington and Jefferson College at Salvitti Family Stadium.

Some say what happened during the game went way over the line when a student in the stands held up a sign about a player's deceased father. The sign read "10-14-13," the date of a Westminster player's father's death.

Washington and Jefferson said one of its students was holding the sign. It was targeting Westminster junior Linsday Bell. Westminster's Athletic Director Jason Lener said Bell is handling the situation with grace.

"I visited with her that evening, I visited with her on Sunday, I visited with her yesterday," said Lener. "It's a difficult situation for her, but she's really, really strong."

Washington and Jefferson said the student who held the sign is no longer enrolled at the college, and the head coach said he's no longer on the football team.

Bell's mother said on Facebook that this was not the first time something like this happened. She said the last time her daughter played at W & J, a group in the student section yelled: "Thirty-five, where's your dad?"

She was questioning why a second incident happened if the first one had been addressed?

Washington and Jefferson said the prior incident was reported to its administration and an investigation took place. The college said, "At the time we could not verify that the comments made during the game were targeting a specific student. We shared what we learned and the actions afterwards with Westminster College administration. However, in light of Saturday's incident, we are reopening the investigation into the previous report."

Lenar believes Washington and Jefferson acted swiftly following this weekend's incident.

"No college athlete deserves to be attacked personally when they're on the field of competition or the court of play. That's not what anybody signed up for," said Lenar. "She was in a very close relationship with her father and from what I understand, he was an amazing person. I told her yesterday, you should be proud of how your mom and dad raised you."

Washington and Jefferson said it's continuing to investigate the situation to determine if other students were involved.