Durham Lords women’s softball head coach Jim Nemish was about to unlock his team’s shed when he discovered a broken key in the door.
Someone, it appeared, had tried unsuccessfully to break into the shed. It turns out, that was the least of the problems at the diamond.
The team’s huge banner was missing from the bench.
It was the Durham Lords banner from their home team dugout, gifted to them after one of their 19 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) championships.
Lords’ players Ashley Black and Sarah Seifried were shocked by the incident.
“I was quite upset, that’s our field and for someone to come in and destroy it was wrong,” Black says. “Why? Why would you want to vandalize one of your own teams?”
Seifried adds; “It just goes to show you that they don’t really understand what the diamond and banner means to all of us.”
Removing the banner was no small job, says Dwayne Cristo, lead facility attendant at the department of athletics.
“We’re not talking about a small banner, we’re talking about a 10-feet high by 30 to 35-feet long [banner],” he says.
“We’re not talking about a small banner, we’re talking about a 10-feet high by 30 to 35-feet long [banner],” says Dwayne Cristo, lead facility attendant at the department of athletics.
“It would have taken the person or people quite a long time to remove every cable tie there,” he says.
Rosemary Theriault, assistant coach to the team, says the vandalism to the field on Sept. 20 left her and all the Lords in disbelief.
“Durham is a great school and to play on a sports team here is fantastic and to have someone come and do that to our field, we call it our house, it hurt, it hurt the girls, it hurt everybody,” Theriault says.
She decided to channel her frustration and try to find the culprit by posting about the incident on her personal Facebook page, which garnered considerable attention. It received 85 reactions, 16 comments and was shared 36 times.
Theriault may have gained community support through social media but ultimately the person or people who took the banner displayed it on social media.
“Snapchat was the one that found the banner,” Cristo says.
“Snapchat was the one that found the banner,” Cristo says.
Students aware of the incident came across a photograph with the banner hanging in the background. Cristo says the picture was taken at a student home near campus, on Dalhousie Crescent.
The wrapped-up banner was found on the softball field bench Sept. 26, returned with a note that read ‘Dear Lords sorry we are the only ones who can get away with a steal…sorry!!’
Campus safety was made aware by the athletics department about the vandalism and theft.
Thomas Lynch, director of campus safety, says if the investigation identifies the individual(s) responsible for the theft and evidence supports misconduct charges, criminal charges could be laid by police. But he says this outcome is unlikely.
Lynch says he would prefer to keep the investigation internal and if appropriate, would invoke the student conduct policy and procedure.
Under the school policy, individual(s) could face a range of consequences from no penalty at all to suspension from the college.
Cristo says within the year, they will add new cameras closer to the field to enhance security.
The Lords played their last home doubleheader of the season Oct. 3 against Seneca Sting, 7-5 and 10-1. With the wins, Durham took over top spot in the OCAA standings with the wins with a record of 16-6.
With the banner back home where it belongs, the team is in Saskatchewan over the Thanksgiving weekend to compete in the Canadian Collegiate Softball Association national championship. Durham’s first game is Friday against the Saskatchewan Huskies.
The Lords will then return home, to finish their OCAA season and take part in the playoffs.
