Duke volleyball player: BYU response slow to racial slurs

Photo by: Mark A. Philbrick/BYU Copyright 2007. All Rights Reserved.

The Duke volleyball player who was subjected to racial slurs during a match at BYU said Sunday that officials onsite didn’t react quickly enough when they were made aware of the behavior during play.

Nor did they adequately address the situation immediately after the game, Rachel Richardson said in a statement posted to her Twitter account.

No athlete, regardless of their race should ever be subject to such hostile conditions,” said Richardson, the only Black starter on the Blue Devils team.

BYU banned a fan from all athletic venues on campus on Saturday, a day after the match. The fan was not a student but was sitting in the student section.

Richardson, a 19-year-old sophomore from Ellicott City, Maryland, wrote that she didn’t believe the fan’s actions were a reflection of BYU athletes, saying her opponents showed respect and sportsmanship. adding that BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe had reacted quickly once he was notified.

“This is not the first time this has happened in college athletics and sadly it likely will not be the last time,” Richardson said. “However, each time it happens we as student athletes, coaches, fans, and administrators have a chance to educate those who act in hateful ways.”

Richardson also responded to the idea that some people would have liked to see Duke’s team respond quickly, such as by refusing to continue playing in what became a 3-1 victory for BYU.

“Although the heckling eventually took a mental toll on me, I refused to allow it to stop me from doing what I love to do and what I came to BYU to do: which was to play volleyball,” Richardson said. “I refused to allow those racist bigots to feel any degree of satisfaction from thinking that their comments had ‘gotten to me,’ So, I pushed through and finished the game.

“Therefore, on behalf of my African American teammates and I, we do not want to receive pity or to be looked at as helpless. We do not feel as though we are victims of some tragic unavoidable event. We are proud to be young African American women; we are proud to be Duke student athletes, and we are proud to stand up against racism.”

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3 Comments

  • IM CONSERVATIVE August 28, 2022 at 9:16 pm Reply

    The behavior was reprehensible. I am glad the so-called “fan” has been banned from all future sporting events. I suspect this person behaved in the way they did to cast aspersions on BYU itself. There is no room for this kind of racist or any other bigotry at any sporting or other events – professional, collegiate or prep.

    • Ttunac September 1, 2022 at 7:22 pm Reply

      It’s been investigated thoroughly. It didn’t happen. Video evidence says it didn’t happen. Eyewitnesses say it didn’t happen.
      National headline painting Utah as racist didn’t happen. Your whole virtue signaling tirade is on something that didn’t happen. You’re just looking for something to be triggered by even if it isn’t true.

      • JussieTheWokeJoke September 2, 2022 at 12:31 pm Reply

        Jussie Smollett 2.0…

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