Natalia Martinez is a member of the Georgia State University Soccer team and on Friday, Jan. 19, she is accused of using the N-word in a post on social media.
By Monday, Jan. 22, she had withdrawn from the university after being suspended from the soccer team.
She allegedly posted the slur on Instagram where a screenshot was taken and shared across the campus.
On Saturday, the Georgia State University Athletics Department tweeted a statement saying they are aware of the post and suspended her from the team. The post read in part, "We do not tolerate the language the student used in her post. Pursuant to our student-athlete code of conduct, she has been suspended from the soccer team
On the issue of social media, the student-athlete code of conduct states:
"Similar to comments made in person, the student-athlete may be subject to discipline based on materials and statements posted online, including those that include: derogatory or defamatory language; comments that create a serious danger to the safety of another person or that constitute a credible threat of serious physical or emotional injury to another person; comments or photos that describe or depict unlawful assault, abuse, hazing, harassment or discrimination; selling, possessing or using illegal or banned substances; and any conduct that is illegal or otherwise prohibited by NCAA, Conference and/or University policies."
Student India Bridgeforth created a petition on the site ipetitions calling for Natalia to be expelled. It is up to 500 signatures. In her petition, she wrote, "As a progressive, diverse university, we GSU students feel like this sort of behavior should not be tolerated and that Natalia should be expelled from the university."
She asked those signing to "Please support our effort in keeping our university a positive, hate-free environment by signing this petition."
The university told 11Alive that the student resigned.
According to her bio on GeorgiaStateSports.com, Martinez is from New Jersey and in 2017 played in four matches as a defender for GSU.
11Alive has reached out to all parties to see if they had a comment to offer or would like to speak. This story will be updated as it develops.
That same day, on January 19, a University of Alabama student , also from New Jersey, was expelled over her racist rant on social media. Harley Barber, 19, was also booted from her sorority, Alpha Phi, after posting the offensive videos on a social media account.
The school's president released a statement after the post saying, "The actions of this student do not represent the larger student body or the values of our university, and she is no longer enrolled here."
