Duke volleyball game in Utah moved after racist abuse hurled at Black player

March 14, 2022; Dayton, Ohio, USA. The NCAA logo on a microphone during practice the day before the start of his 2022 NCAA Tournament First Four at UD Arena. Required Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Aug. 27 (Reuters) – The Duke University women’s volleyball game was moved to another location in Provo, Utah, on Saturday as racial slurs were hurled at black players from the crowd during Friday’s game against BYU. school officials said.

The incident prompted BYU to apologize and ban the fan identified as the perpetrator.

Black Duke player godmother Letha Pamplin wrote on Twitter that while playing her 19-year-old granddaughter, Rachel Richardson, she was subjected to racist slurs every time she served. rice field.

“She was threatened by a white man and told to watch her return to the team bus. Had to bench a police officer,” Pamplin tweeted. She confirmed the account in an interview with Reuters.

“Many adults have failed my Goddaughter,” Pamplin said in a statement. .”

Duke’s vice president and director of athletics, Nina King, said in a statement that due to “extremely unfortunate circumstances,” the venue for Saturday’s match with the riders was “to provide the safest atmosphere for both teams.” She said players should always be able to complete it in an “inclusive and anti-racist environment”.

In a statement, BYU is committed to eradicating racism and has banned fans identified by Duke from all BYU athletic venues.

In a subsequent email to Reuters, BYU said officials spent hours after the game reviewing videos of the event and talking to event management and security staff.

BYU said, “When last night’s actions were first reported by Duke, no individual was pointed out, and despite the efforts of BYU security and event management, we were unable to identify the perpetrators of the racial slurs. ” he said.

After the game, BYU said, “An individual has been identified by Duke who appears to be abusive and exhibiting questionable behavior. It is a banned individual.”

The school said the perpetrator was sitting in the BYU student section but was not a BYU student.

BYU said Duke’s players “felt unsafe and hurt and were unable to deal with it in a sufficient way during the game. Please don’t let this happen again.”

The incident sparked outrage on social media. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James tweeted in support of Richardson: “We have her back. This is not a sport.

Duke did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment on the incident.BYU police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

the duke won Saturday’s game with Ryder First victory of the season with 3-1. Richardson led the team with his three aces.

Reported by David Shepardson.Edited by Daniel Wallis

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