Oklahoma players rise up against racism

SAYING THEY were committed to curing the "disease" of racism, Oklahoma football players called yesterday for the expulsion of fraternity leaders tied to a racist video and vowed to help the mostly white campus end its "culture of exclusivity."

"Our hope is to shed light on this issue and promote meaningful change at a national level," the players said in a statement many released nearly simultaneously on their social media accounts. "But before we can change the nation, we make it our mission to change our campus."

The 9-second video caught members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon's University of Oklahoma chapter singing a song that used a derogatory term for black people and referenced lynching. Two students have been expelled and university President David Boren ordered the chapter house to be shut down.

Boren plans to meet with team captains after spring break, but the players haven't waited to express their displeasure.

They banded together Monday and marched arm-in-arm into the school's indoor practice facility, wearing all black, with coach Bob Stoops front and center. The team has not practiced all week, instead silently demonstrating at Owen Field during its normal practice time.

The university has about 27,000 students, about 5 percent of whom are black. The players said they want SAE leadership "expelled, suspended or otherwise disciplined severely."

In other college news:

* The head coach of the Ohio State University women's hockey team sexually harassed players with repeated and inappropriate comments, according to an investigation that ended with the coach resigning under threat of firing. Ex-coach Nate Handrahan also violated university policy against whistleblower retaliation by intimidating and chastising team members after complaints were raised, according to the report.

* Greg Sankey will replace the retiring Mike Slive as commissioner of the Southeastern Conference. Sankey is in his 13th year with the SEC.

* New York Rangers defenseman

Kevin Klein

will be out 3 to 4 weeks due to an undisclosed injury sustained when he was struck in the left arm by a shot.

* Johnny Boychuk and the New York Islanders agreed on a 7-year contract extension worth $42 million.

* American tennis pro

Melanie Oudin

said her heart problems have returned, pushing back the start to her season. Oudin, a surprise quarterfinalist at the 2009 U.S. Open at age 17, wrote on Twitter that she "will probably have to undergo another procedure" for a heart condition. She already had a heart procedure in November.

* Serena Williams has returned to the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., ending a 14-year personal boycott of the $5 million tournament that began when she was booed as a teenager on her way to winning the title in 2001.