NMSU Cancels Basketball Season Over Hazing Allegations

NMSU nixes basketball season due to hazing claims

New Mexico State University’s men’s basketball team is once again in the national news following cancellation of the season due to hazing allegations. On Saturday, the school suspended play, puts its coaching staff on paid administrative leave and began investigating the allegations by interviewing student athletes. In a letter to the campus community announcing that suspension, Chancellor Dan Arvizu described himself as “heartbroken and sickened to hear about these hazing allegations. Hazing is a despicable act. It humiliates and degrades someone and has the potential to cause physical and emotional harm, or even death.” NMSU, he notes, “strictly prohibits hazing, in all forms, and it’s something we simply will not tolerate.” As ESPN reports, shortly before Arvizu released his letter, two players announced on social media their departures from the team, with one, Shahar Lazur, saying he was leaving because “I don’t think the program that I originally committed to aligns with my beliefs and core values.’’On Sunday, NMSU police released a redacted report on the hazing allegations, which led Arvizu to cancel the remainder of the season, noting such action was necessary given the additional information from the police report. That report, as multiple news outlets shared, says the alleged hazing began in the summer and continued as recently as Feb. 6, when one player reports being stripped, held down and sexually assaulted by three other players. The season’s cancellation follows last November’s fatal shooting by NMSU forward Mike Peake of University of New Mexico student Brandon Travis. Peake also sustained a gunshot injury in the incident, in which police believe a group of UNM students lured Peake to campus in retaliation for a fight at an earlier game. Police did not charge Peake in that incident, but the school suspended him from the team in early December pending their own investigation into the incident.

SFPD makes arrests for recent violent crimes

Santa Fe Police on Friday reported two arrests for violent crimes in the city. On Thursday, night SFPD made an arrest for the Feb. 5 shooting incident on Camino Alire in which a 34-year-old male was discovered in the parking lot of the Santa Fe Apartments with at least one gunshot wound. The victim remains in critical condition. SFPD arrested 13-year-old Christopher Martin for that shooting and charged him with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence. According to a news release, police interviewed Martin in the presence of a guardian and he confessed to shooting the victim. SFPD on Friday evening arrested 31-year-old Erik Ibarra-Salcido, for homicide after issuing a $1,000 Crime Stoppers reward the day prior for information on his whereabouts. On Friday evening at approximately 6 pm, SFPD learned Ibarra-Salcido was in the area of Camino Capitan and Galisteo Road and subsequently spotted, identified and arrested him for homicide at close to 10 pm without incident for the Nov. 14, 2022 fatal shooting of Armando Torres Marquez, 32, in the same area.

Baldwin disputes gun enhancement in Rust charges

Lawyers for Alec Baldwin on Friday filed another challenge to First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies’ charges against the Rust actor and producer for the Oct. 21, 2021 fatal on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Late last month, the DA charged both Baldwin and Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, with one of those counts including a firearm enhancement that makes the crime punishable by a mandatory five years in jail. The latest motion challenges that enhancement and says the prosecutors have “committed an unconstitutional and elementary legal error” by charging Baldwin under a statute that did not exist on the date of the accident. Specifically, the motion says the version of the firearm enhancement statute at the time of the accident specified it only applied when a weapon had been “brandished,” a characterization Baldwin’s lawyers say is inapplicable because the DA has not accused Baldwin of intentionality. The most current version of the firearm enhancement statute, they say, wasn’t enacted until seven months after the fatal Rust shooting. On Feb. 7, Baldwin’s lawyers filed a motion requesting special prosecutor Andrea Reeb be disqualified and removed from the case because she is a member of the state House of Representatives (R-Clovis). “Another day, another motion from Alec Baldwin and his attorneys in an attempt to distract from the gross negligence and complete disregard for safety on the Rust film set that led to Halyna Hutchins’ death,” DA spokesperson Heather Brewer told Deadline regarding the latest charges, adding that Carmack-Altwies and Reeb “will review all motions—even those given to the media before being served to the DA.”

US Sen. Luján advocates for stroke victims

The New York Times delves into the accommodation US Sen. John Fetterman, D-PA, needs as he starts his first term in Congress following a near-fatal stroke. The story includes observations from US Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-NM, who also suffered a stroke a year ago. He checks in regularly with Fetterman, Luján tells the Times. “I would just say, ‘Hey, just thinking about you, hope you’re having a great day,’” Luján says. The story discusses the partisan attacks on Fetterman’s health, with Luján commenting that during his own recovery he was “very blessed there was a lot of love and humanity around me. I can’t imagine what my recovery would have been like if I had people saying horrible, disrespectful, uneducated, hateful things. It’s tough.” On Friday, Luján delivered the keynote address at the annual International Stroke Conference in Dallas, Texas, noting that education is needed to remove the stigma associated with strokes. He also said a current priority is ensuring stroke victims living in rural areas have access to rehabilitation. “The only way that those of us that are feeling this will be able to stand in front of others to speak is if you have the tools you need, if your research is funded, if we can change the stigma, if we can provide more support for rehabilitation every step of the way,” Luján told conference attendees.

COVID-19 by the numbers

Reported Feb. 10;: New cases: 136; 666,445 total cases. Deaths: five; Santa Fe County has had 396 total deaths; 9,001 total fatalities statewide. Statewide hospitalizations: 68. Patients on ventilators: six

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent Feb. 9 “community levels” map shows one county—Guadalupe County—at “yellow”—medium risk—for COVID-19 as last week (down from four the week prior). The rest of the state—including Santa Fe County—is green, aka has low risk. Corresponding recommendations for each level can be found here.

The New Mexico state Senate on Friday confirmed Patrick M. Allen as the new health secretary on a 26-5 vote.

Resources: Receive four free at-home COVID-19 tests per household via COVIDTests.gov; Check availability for additional free COVID-19 tests through Project ACT; CDC interactive booster eligibility tool; NM DOH vaccine & booster registration; CDC isolation and exposure interactive tool; COVID-19 treatment info; NMDOH immunocompromised tool kit. People seeking treatment who do not have a medical provider can call NMDOH’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-855-600-3453. DOH encourages residents to download the NM Notify app and to report positive COVID-19 home tests on the app.

You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here.

Listen up

On the most recent episode of New Mexico In Focus, political correspondent Gwyneth Doland talks to State Rep. Linda Serrato, D-Santa Fe, about House Bill 7, the Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Health Care Freedom Act, one of the pieces of legislation this session that seeks to codify abortion rights in New Mexico. “We’re looking at the full spectrum of reproductive health care,” Serrato says, which includes access to health care throughout pregnancy and would provide legal recourse against local governments that try to restrict access to abortion. The bill also protects access to gender affirming care to “ensure people are able to get all of the necessary health care they need as they’re looking at their gender identify,” Serrato says. Doland also speaks with state Rep. Jenifer Jones, R-Deming, regarding her concerns that the law is too vague, and Equality New Mexico Executive Director Marshall Martinez about why concerns about the bill are unfounded, and who it will help. The bill has passed two committees and will next be heard on the House floor.

NM artist chosen for reality show

Artist Frank Buffalo Hyde (Onondaga/Nez Perce), a Santa Fe native who studied at both the Santa Fe Art Institute and Institute of American Indian Arts (and currently lives in Minnesota), is one of seven artists who was chosen in a national search for a new reality television show premiering next month: The Exhibit: Finding the Next Great Artist. The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden partnered with MTV Entertainment Studios and PB&J TV + Docs for the show, which launches is first six-episode season at 9 pm ET Friday, March 3 on MTV following RuPaul’s Drag Race; Smithsonian Channel will re-air it at 9 pm on Tuesday, March 7. According to a Smithsonian news release, the program follows the artists as they create commissions “inspired by social themes reflected in works in the collection by modern and contemporary artists, including Laurie Anderson, Mark Bradford, the Guerilla Girls, Barbara Kruger, Yayoi Kusama, Kent Monkman, Nam June Paik, Horace Pippin and Alma Thomas.” Those works will then be evaluated by Museum Director Melissa Chiu and guest judges. “This TV partnership was really about an expansive idea of art—radical accessibility,” Chiu tells the New York Times, adding that it will bring “new light to artists and artwork.” The series reportedly concludes with one artist receiving an invitation to exhibit an original work at the Hirshhorn and a cash prize of $100,000. In a 2015 interview with SFR, Buffalo Hyde said he had his “eye on bigger venues and bigger conversations nationally” for his career. “By sort of being persistent, I’ve earned a place in the contemporary Native art scene, whatever that is or wherever it exists outside of Santa Fe,” he said, adding: “It’s one thing to be invited to the dinner, but it’s another thing to hold your place at the table.”

Hearts and chocolates

At least as of Friday, the Santa Fe County clerk still had some #Valentine’sDay marriage license appointments available for today and tomorrow, according to a tweet from County Clerk Katharine Clark. As it happens, Santa Fe ranks as one of the “best honeymoon destinations” in the US, according to Condé Nast Traveler. “This high-desert town has a little something for every type of honeymooner,” the magazine writes, “artists, spiritualists, snowbirds, foodies and more. Get your cultural fix at institutions like the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and New Mexico Museum of Art, then load up on green chiles and chocolate at one of the city’s many excellent restaurants. And if you’re craving an adrenaline kick, Ski Santa Fe is just a 30-minute drive from downtown.” All true. As for your honeymoon vacation or staycation, CN Traveler recommends The Inn of the Five Graces as, “perhaps the most beautiful stay in town.” If neither marriage nor honeymoon is in the offing, don’t skimp on the candy. According to Candystore.com’s 2023 Valentine’s Day candy data, New Mexico’s top Valentine’s candy is chocolate roses (which we’re almost positive we’ve never seen); with heart-shaped box of chocolate and conversation hearts coming in second and third, respectively.

Above the cold sky shone

The National Weather Service forecasts an 80% chance of some type of precipitation—rain and/or snow—today, with some possible thunder as well. The high temperature will be near 53 degrees with north wind 10 to 15 mph becoming south in the afternoon. More rain and snow likely tonight before 8 pm, turning into snow overnight with a possible 1 to 3 inches accumulation.

Thanks for reading! The Word wasn’t searching for an essay about The White Lotus referencing Goethe and Kierkegaard, but thought existential dread provided a good counterpoint to the Valentine’s Day fodder above.