The NCAA issued a public reprimand and suspension from Stony Brook’s next championship opportunity to junior Matt Faiella of the Seawolves football team, according to an NCAA release last week.

Faiella, officially a linebacker on the roster even though he has seen most of his playing time at fullback, was found to have used “an inappropriate and offensive racial reference on his Twitter page to describe Towson University student-athletes.” Because both Towson and Stony Brook were participating in the FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) championships at the time of the tweet, it was considered championship misconduct, the release explained.

Stony Brook appealed the decision, but the public reprimand and suspension were upheld by the Administrative Committee of the NCAA Division I Championships/Sports Management Cabinet.

As Stony Brook was no longer participating in the championships when the process was completed, Faiella’s suspension will apply to the next championship in which his team is involved.

“This was a very unfortunate incident, but racially insensitive characterizations are unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” said Jim O’Day, chair of the Division I Football Championship Committee and director of athletics at the University of Montana. “The offensive language of this nature by Mr. Faiella, whether intentional or not, was unsportsmanlike and discredited the championship overall.”

A Stony Brook athletics spokesperson said that the department was aware of the incident, but that no one would be made available for comment and the department had no statement to make.

Faiella, a health sciences major, played in all 13 games for the Seawolves, starting in one.

Stony Brook won an outright Big South championship and an FCS playoff game for the first time in school history in 2011, before exiting the championship at Sam Houston State on Dec. 3. Spring practice begins in March in preperation for the next season.