ANN ARBOR (WWJ) – A University of Michigan hockey player has reportedly been dismissed from the team for allegedly defacing a sidewalk at the Jewish Resource Center with inappropriate graffiti.
Ann Arbor police had been searching for suspects in a pair of “hate motivated graffiti” incidents that happened on Aug. 22. In one instance, homophobic graffiti was found on the sidewalk at the JRC. In the other, a racial slur and threatening message were found on an apartment building.
Police officials said at the time they were working to determine whether the incidents were connected. Authorities did not disclose the contents of the threatening message on the apartment building.
On Tuesday the Ann Arbor Police Department announced two suspects – a male and a female – had been identified in connection with the incident at the JRC. The man was found to be responsible for painting a homophobic slur and male genitalia, according to police.
The woman spray painted her initials, officials said. Authorities say the victim in the case did not wish to prosecute and the case has been closed. No charges will be sought.
Sophomore defenseman Johnny Druskinis was removed from the team just before the start of the season after he was identified as the male suspect, according to a report from the Detroit Free Press.
Images of the graffiti can be seen on the Ann Arbor Police Department X (formerly Twitter) page. Note: some may be offended by the content.
“As an agency that strives for accountability and transparency, we have attached unedited images of the vandalism located at the JRC. No further statements will be issued in connection with this case,” a press release from the department said.
While police did not identify Druskinis, the Free Press confirmed he was the student involved.
Officials did not say whether Druskinis and the female student were also responsible for the graffiti at the apartment building.
While some initially speculated last weekend on social media that the vandals had painted a swastika at the JRC after a post from the grassroots organization StopAntisemitism, that claim has been proven to be untrue. The group has since deleted their post and clarified the incident did not include any such symbols.
Rabbi Fully Eisenberger, the head of the JRC, has publicly condemned these statements as “fake news" and the center released the following statement:
"The vandalism found at the JRC was offensive and disrespectful, but did not include any overt anti-semitic symbols (like swastikas). We have been in contact with those responsible and received a private apology, as well as a subsequent public apology,
"The public apology took place on Shabbat, in front of over 350 people. We deliberately chose Shabbat for the public apology, knowing it would not be recorded, and thus not contribute to further public attacks. We feel continued news coverage of this incident is unwarranted and unfortunate. From our perspective, it was put to rest weeks ago."