UMass Lowell baseball coach Ken Harring refused to comment today on a WGBH report in which a former player, Cedric Rose, alleges he was removed from the team in February due to the head coach's racial bias.
UMass Lowell officials hired an independent investigator in March to determine if the Rose family's allegations of discrimination have merit. Harring has been asked not to speak about his relationship with Rose publicly until the investigation is complete. UMass Lowell athletic director Peter Casey did not respond to a request for comment.
Rose, a Pittsfield, Mass., native, transferred to UMass Lowell from Hermiker Community College in the spring of 2021 on a partial baseball scholarship. He earned 92 starts over two seasons, hitting .250 with 13 home runs and 62 RBIs. Last summer, he earned NECBL All-Star recognition.
During Rose's first season with the team in 2021, he began keeping a diary to document his experience of playing college baseball at UMass Lowell. Rose's father, Carl, is Black. His mother, Michelle Johnston, is White.
