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BYU Bans Fan Who Hurled Racial Slur At Black Duke Volleyball Player After Her Godmother Speaks Out
The Brigham Young University (BYU) athletic department banned a fan from attending all athletic venues after he yelled racial slurs and threats of violence at a Black volleyball player from the opposing team.
According to Lesa Pamplin, godmother of Duke volleyball player Rachel Richardson, a fan hurled the n-word every time Richardson served the ball.
Pamplin also said a White man told the player to "watch her back" when she made her way back to the team bus.
The Huffington Post quoted Pamplin's tweets–which are not public.
They read:
"My Goddaughter is the only Black starter for Duke's volleyball team. While playing yesterday, she was called a [n-word] every time she served."
"She was threatened by a White male that told her to watch her back going to the team bus. A police officer had to be put by their bench."
“Not one freaking adult did anything to protect her. I’m looking at you BYU."
"You allowed this racist behavior to continue without intervening. Apologizing to her parents after the fact is not enough. She will soon be sharing her story.”
US Senate Candidate and BYU alum Evan McMullin admonished the individual who harassed Richardson.
He expressed his disappointment in his alma mater's lack of immediate response.
\u201cAs a BYU alum, season ticket holder and human, I\u2019m disgusted by the fan who yelled racist slurs at Duke volleyball player @rachrich03, and that this behavior wasn\u2019t stopped immediately. Racism doesn\u2019t reflect our values and must have no place among us. https://t.co/QwEUgkmEqn\u201d— Evan McMullin \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Evan McMullin \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1661712444
Pamplin later expressed disappointment BYU took action only after her tweets about the racist incident went viral.
She wrote:
“Many adults failed my goddaughter. It is our duty—each of us—to use our voices in the spaces we occupy to protect and advocate for each other.”
\u201cRe: BYU Women's Volleyball \nI'll say it again: If someone says something racist and the nine people around them don't correct it, you have ten racists. \nThat young white man yelling the n-word guilty and everyone within earshot who allowed the abuse to continue is guilty.\u201d— Stone Catcher Freeman (@Stone Catcher Freeman) 1661694268
\u201cThe Duke/BYU racial incident is a PERFECT example of how we dismiss institutional racism by casting it as a random act of racism and not what it really is.\n\nA long-standing systemic problem at a racist institution\n\nA thread:\u201d— Michael Harriot (@Michael Harriot) 1661817204
Richardson issued a statement regarding Friday night's match against BYU, saying:
"My fellow African American teammates and I were targeted and racially heckled throughout the entirety of the match."
"The slurs and comments grew into threats which caused us to feel unsafe."
"Both the officials and BYU coaching staff were made aware of the incident during the game, but failed to take the necessary steps to stop the unacceptable behavior and create a safe enivronment."
\u201c#morethanavolleyballplayer\u201d— rachel \u2661 (@rachel \u2661) 1661705258
Richardson added officials failed to "adequately address the situation" following the game as well.
You can watch a news report here:
The following day, BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe addressed the incident before the game and told attending fans he met with Richardson and commented "If you knew her, you'd love her."
Holmoe's attempt to assuage the situation fell short.
\u201cThis apology fell short. He had an opportunity to condemn racist behavior and he failed. She was not harassed because BYU students \u2018don\u2019t know her\u2019. The slurs were racist. This was a fail by the BYU Athletic Director.\u201d— Soledad O'Brien (@Soledad O'Brien) 1661763800
\u201cA college sophomore did a better job addressing this situation with grace and courage than the BYU athletic director with 30 years of coaching experience who couldn't say "racism" and the volleyball coach with almost 20 years of experience who bailed on their meeting\u201d— Ellen K. Pao (@Ellen K. Pao) 1661748257
\u201cNot ONE mention of racism. This was weak, @BYU\u201d— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) 1661722418
\u201cNope - this ain\u2019t it, Tom. You can\u2019t condemn racism without using the word \u201cracist.\u201d And the comment \u201cIf you knew her, you\u2019d love her\u201d is an insult - the man who called Rachel Richardson the n-word didn\u2019t think she was mean, he thought she was inferior.\u201d— Shannon Watts (@Shannon Watts) 1661738217
\u201c@BYUwvolleyball His remarks completely fail to meet the moment:\n\u2022He doesn\u2019t call the attack racist\u2014but generalizes\n\u2022He doesn\u2019t identify that racists attacked 1 Black woman\u2014again generalizes\n\u2022He qualifies \u201cif you knew her you\u2019d love her.\u201d Pal\u2014racism is also bad against people you don\u2019t know\ud83e\udd26\ud83c\udffd\u200d\u2642\ufe0f\u201d— BYU Women\u2019s Volleyball (@BYU Women\u2019s Volleyball) 1661664729
Duke announced Saturday's match against Rider University would take place at an alternate location in Provo, Utah away from its previous location at BYU's Smith Fieldhouse–which has been hosting teams as part of the weekend's doTerra Classic tournament.
"First and foremost, our priority is the well-being of Duke student-athletes," wrote Duke Vice President & Director of Athletics Nina King.
King continued:
"They should always have the opportunity to compete in an inclusive, anti-racist environment which promotes equality and fair play."
"Following extremely unfortunate circumstances at Friday night's match at BYU, we are compelled to shift today's match against Rider to a different location to afford both teams the safest atmosphere for competition."
"We are appreciative of the support from BYU's athletic administration as we navigate this troubling situation."
"I have been in touch with the student-athletes who have been deeply impacted, will continue to support them in every way possible and look forward to connecting further upon their return from Provo."
BYU, a private institution affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, issued a statement saying they were commmitted to "rooting out racism."
\u201cOfficial statement from BYU Athletics.\u201d— BYU Cougars (@BYU Cougars) 1661630210
BYU wrote in part:
"To say we are extremely disheartened in the actions of a small number of fans in last night's volleyball match in the Smith Fieldhouse between BYU and Duke is not strong enough language."
"We will not tolerate behavior of this kind. Specifically the use of a racial slur at any of our athletic event is absolutely unacceptable and BYU Athletics holds a zero-tolerance apporach to this behavior."
@BYUCougars/Twitter
BYU did not specify the length of time the individual–who was sitting in the BYU students section but was not a BYU student–was banned from future athletic events.