BYU never signed basketball contract, so South Carolina won’t pay anything for canceling

That means you don’t have to pay the $100,000 fee, according to the school’s law firm.

University of South Carolina says it won’t have to pay Brigham Young University a $100,000 cancellation fee — Despite withdrawing from the upcoming women’s basketball series.

East Coast schools were scheduled to play a home-and-home series against BYU, starting with games at South Carolina schools in November. But South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley withdrew from the game out of concern for his players, following accusations of shouting racist slurs during a volleyball game at BYU last month. decided to

Now, according to South Carolina’s legal team, the school says BYU is under no obligation to withdraw because its contract with BYU “has not been fully implemented.” A spokesperson for the athletics department also confirmed that in a statement.

A first draft of the agreement, filed with the Salt Lake Tribune for public records, shows the document only signed by the state of South Carolina and not by BYU Athletic. This he was created on May 24th and is labeled as “half-executed” by the school.

An updated version of the contract was made three days later on May 27th. This raised his penalty for exiting the series from $25,000 to $100,000 for him. However, it does not appear to have been signed by either university.

A South Carolina law firm told the Tribune in an email:

Despite the cancellation penalty, no payment was received by either team to play in the series, with a second game scheduled for 2023 in Provo.

Staley said earlier this month that he wasn’t comfortable letting his team play BYU after Duke University volleyball player Rachel Richardson, the only black starter on his team, was accused of defamation. Told. She said she heard the N word ‘very clearly’ From the BYU Student Section. BYU will investigate those allegations and I have been unable to find any evidence to support Richardson’s account.

The school has reinstated fans who had been banned in light of the accusations.

Still, Staley hasn’t changed course after these findings.

In her original statement, she said: “My job as head coach is to do what is best for my players and staff. I feel that this is not the right time to do so.

South Carolina’s athletic director said he supports the decision.

On Wednesday, Staley told a South Carolina television station watch foxshe backed canceling the home opener and said she would continue to support Richardson and what she said she was going through.

“That’s her story. That’s what she’s stuck with,” Staley said.

There are currently no plans to reschedule the series.

BYU found no evidence of racial slurs, We are still working to make sure the game is racist. Provo School Spokesperson referred to earlier statements about the suspension of basketball gamessaid the university was “extremely disappointed with South Carolina’s decision.”

“We believe the solution is to work together to eradicate racism, not to separate from each other.”