Hoops Break Up, Citing Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Ex-Member

Indiana trio Hoops are breaking up, frontman Drew Auscherman announced. In a statement shared on Hoops’ social media, Auscherman wrote, “We’ve been seeing some pretty terrible things on Twitter over the past week involving a former member of the band. I feel it’s necessary to say that we as people and as a band abhor that kind of behavior and do not tolerate sexual abuse in any form.”

Auscherman said the ex-member has been out of Hoops since 2017 and that the person left the band “for reasons unrelated to this situation.” Auscherman added, “A while after the band had broken up [in 2018], I was made aware of this former member’s actions. I made the mistake of not pursuing the matters further with the band and the former member, which I now realize only extended and amplified the victim’s suffering.”

Auscherman also explained:

I think that Hoops came back too soon [in November
2019]while I was still working through my own personal issues of emotional
abuse towards partners and friends. These are things I’m still working
through and at the moment take precedence over all things music
related. That being said, we have come to the conclusion that it is no
longer acceptable for us to continue as a band with this sort of
platform.

Hoops released their debut album Routines in 2017 via Fat Possum. The band announced an indefinite hiatus in July 2018 before returning with new music in November 2019. The band’s final lineup featured multi-instrumentalists Drew Auscherman, Kevin Krauter, and Keagan Beresford.

Hoops were scheduled to release their sophomore album Halo on October 2 via Fat Possum. The label has now said it will not release the album. “The label does not tolerate sexual abuse of any kind and stands with all victims,” Fat Possum wrote.

If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, we encourage you to reach out for support:

RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline
http://www.rainn.org
1 800 656 HOPE (4673)

Crisis Text Line
http://www.facebook.com/crisistextline (chat support)
SMS: Text “HERE” to 741-741