Iowa State lacrosse team loses travel privileges after parking vehicle near dispensary

AMES, Iowa (KCCI) - Iowa State’s lacrosse team has lost its travel privileges after a picture online showed a university vehicle parked in front of a marijuana dispensary in Colorado.

The team was traveling to Colorado Springs for a game. They say they parked there to eat lunch at a nearby restaurant, and they did not go into the legal dispensary.

Zach Greenburg, who works for a Philadelphia-based students’ rights group called FIRE, is advocating for the team.

He said ISU violated the team’s free speech rights. He said the university punished the team as soon as they returned, and didn’t give the team a hearing or ask about what happened.

“The president of the team is dismayed they got no chance to tell their side of the story and tell administrators what happened and give them full facts. And that’s a real shame because due process and getting a hearing is really important,” said Greenburg.

Greenburg has set a Feb. 17 deadline for ISU to respond. He hopes to fix the issue without litigation.

ISU said it has received the letter from FIRE and is reviewing it.

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