College athlete suspended, leaves school over racist social media post

[Tony Boone]

College athlete suspended, leaves school over racist social media post

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/201...rt_river_index

A Georgia State University student-athlete has withdrawn from school after she was suspended from the team for using a racial epithet on social media.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Natalia Martinez, 18, was temporarily removed from the soccer team after the message was posted to her Finsta - a secret version of Instagram that's typically only shared with close friends.

Martinez uses a version of the n-word in her post.

A similar Finsta post led to the expulsion of a University of Alabama student last week. Harley Barber, a native of New Jersey, was kicked out of her UA sorority and the school after a video posted to her account showed her repeatedly using the n-word and other profanities.

The University of Alabama said Barber's comments were "ignorant and disturbing."

Disciplinary actions against Martinez came after a petition signed by more than 500 people called for her expulsion.

"As a progressive, diverse university, we GSU students feel like this sort of behavior should not be tolerated and that Natalia should be expelled from the university," said petition creator India Bridgeforth.

Several commenters on the petition site referenced Barber's expulsion.

"Actions need real consequences. As a student at the University of Alabama, which recently dealt with the Harley Barber incident, it is important to condemn and punish people like this as strongly as possible," Commenter Matt Hill said.