University of Wisconsin women’s volleyball team’s private pictures leaked, police initiate probe

The University of Wisconsin police are investigating after private photographs of the women’s volleyball team were shared online without their consent, according to a report from NBC News. 

The photos were taken after the Wisconsin Badgers football team won the Big Ten title in November last year, according to a report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The photographs reportedly showed some of the team members lifting up their bras. 

Members of the team contacted the university’s police department after finding out that the pictures had been shared online, the report said, citing the athletics department. “UWPD is investigating multiple crimes, including sharing sensitive photos without consent,” the police wrote in a statement. “UWPD is not investigating the volleyball student-athletes for wrongdoing in this matter.” 

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The athletics department has said that the girls on the volleyball team are not under investigation, adding that the police are investigating multiple crimes, including sharing explicit pictures without their consent. 

“The unauthorized sharing is a significant and wrongful invasion of the student-athletes’ privacy, including potential violations of university policies and criminal statues,” the athletics department wrote in a statement. 

“The unauthorized sharing is a significant and wrongful invasion of the student-athletes’ privacy, including potential violations of university policies and criminal statutes,” the Univeristy’s twitter handle wrote on Wednesday adding that the pictures were never meant to be “share publicly.”

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The women’s volleyball team at the University of Wisconsin is ranked No. 5 in the nation and is 13-3 in the current season, with a 7-1 record in the Big Ten. They will be playing Michigan State next Friday at the UW Field House. 

Under Kelly Sheffield, the coach for the team , the university’s volleyball line-up has been in the headlines for their play. Sheffield joined the team in 2013. Four years later in 2017, he extended his contract through January 2022.