Freshman Will Schultz is under investigation for the alleged assaults of women off campus outside a bar in the early morning hours of Friday, Mar. 5. A change.org petition claims Schultz punched a female bartender in the face after she dismissed his advances. It also alleges that Schultz hit others, causing at least one female’s eye to swell shut. 

The petition was posted by UW-W student Zoe Messing, calling for Schultz to be suspended from school and removed from the men’s basketball team. It went viral online, being shared by concerned citizens like John Guske, who posted a TikTok story featuring pictures of Schultz’s Snapchat that bragged about his attack.

Allegedly Schultz followed the bartender after she came out of her place of work, making advances toward her. After the woman turned him down, Schultz proceeded to punch the bartender several times in the face. Guske encouraged viewers to contact men’s basketball head coach Patrick Miller about punishment for Schultz’s actions. The Royal Purple reached out to Miller, who declined to comment, referring to the office of University Marketing & Communications.

Schultz is forward number 30 for the UW-W men’s basketball team from Brookfield, Wisconsin where he played for Chicago Hope Academy. He was a two-time all-conference honoree, member of the Big Dipper All-Tournament Team and honorable mention All-State selection. Schultz is currently a mathematics major at UW-Whitewater, but did not respond after multiple requests for comment.

Messing posted the petition because she said a few of her friends were assaulted by Schultz. Messing said one of her friends was beaten so badly, “Her eye was swollen shut.” Soon after Messing made the petition, it received over 3,000 signatures in less than 24 hours.

Messing wrote in her petition about Schutz’s attack on the bartender and said it had been caught on video. Schultz had been reported to the university for harassment, but only received “a slap on the wrist,” according to Messing. 

Commenters who have signed the petition are demanding that Schultz be removed from the university and imprisoned for his actions. Many commenters claim to have witnessed Schultz’s aggressive and inappropriate behaviors toward women on multiple occasions. 

“I saw this happen and it was completely unacceptable. This man has no morals,” said junior Ryan Santas.

 Commentators have also come forward detailing their own encounters with Schultz.

“I’m signing this because my friend lives two doors down from him and he is constantly knocking on her door and harassing her to get into her room,” said Ashlyn Chandler. 

A commenter appearing to be Schultz responded on the petition himself saying, “Bruh, I barely even hit the b***. I thought she was giving me signals. Not my fault these h*** are hard to read.”

The petition was shared on multiple Facebook pages, including the Class of 2024 and others. It has received over 10,000 signatures, surpassing the initial 5,000 goal with a new goal of 15,000 signees. Bloggers on sites such as Reddit, and Imgur also wrote about Schultz’s actions asking it’s users to “Please, don’t stop sharing. Let’s get this a*** kicked out of the UW-System.” 

The university and police authorities are investigating the allegations.

“This incident has been reported to the university. Please be assured that UW-Whitewater responded immediately to the situation in alignment with our university and UW System policies. Because of the nature of these situations, we cannot disclose any additional information and it is important for all involved that we follow our procedures,” said UW-Whitewater Director of Communications Jeff Angileri. “The appropriate authorities, departments and offices have been contacted. The UW-Whitewater Police Department, City of Whitewater Police Department and Dean of Students Office are investigating and will determine appropriate action.”