Four Players, Charging Racism, Walk Out on Holy Cross Team; Two Are Invited Back

Two of Holy Cross College’s four black basketball players who walked off on the team charging racism have been asked to rejoin the team, school officials said Wednesday night.

The two players were told they may resume playing for the team, but have not appeared at a practice since Saturday, and walked out on a meeting with the school’s top athletics officials Wednesday night.

The school issued a statement Wednesday night saying center Walter Coates, a senior from Calverton, Va., and forward Doug McCrory, a freshman from Hartford, Conn., were told they could return.

Guard Jim Runcie of Hyde Park, N.Y., a senior, and leading scorer Larry Westbrook, were not invited to return to the team because of a boycott that began Saturday when Runcie was struck by teammate Dennis Ahern, who is white.

Head Coach George Blaney ejected Ahern from the practice, but the four black players have since boycotted the team. The players said at a news conference Tuesday that the incident was part of a pattern of racism on the team, and that Blaney has failed to address the problem.

In a statement issued after Wednesday’s meeting--which included Athletic Director Ron Perry--Blaney said Runcie was not invited back to the team because he punched Ahern Sunday at a motel where the team was staying during the Christmas-New Year’s holiday recess.

Westbrook also will be kept off the team because he turned down four offers to return, Blaney said in the statement.