*Brigham Young University (BYU) has announced that its athletics department found no evidence supporting allegations of racism made by a Black Duke University volleyball player.
Following an “extensive review” of all available video and audio recordings, and after conducting interviews with more than 50 people, including personnel and student-athletes from both teams who attended the Duke vs. BYU Women’s Volleyball match, BYU released a statement on Friday.
According to the Black player known as Rachel Richardson, she and her teammates were called racist slurs on August 26 during the match in question.
On August 28, she took to Twitter to register her experience, alleging that she and her other Black teammates were “racially heckled throughout the entirety of the match.”
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She said the comments eventually turned into threats which “caused us to feel unsafe.”
But the statement by BYU Athletics has found no “any evidence to corroborate the allegation that fans engaged in racial heckling or uttered racial slurs at the event.”
The statement added, “As we stated earlier, we would not tolerate any conduct that would make a student-athlete feel unsafe. That is the reason for our immediate response and our thorough investigation.”
Following the heckling incident, the Duke promptly changed location for the next match and BYU banned the accused fan.
However, the statement also stated that at the end of the investigation, BYU decided to lift the ban on the “fan who was identified as having uttered racial slurs during the match” because “we have not found any evidence that that individual engaged in such an activity.”
Nina King, the Duke Athletic Director, clarified that she firmly stands with Richardson and her Black teammates. In a statement, Nina said, “The 18 members of the Duke University volleyball team are exceptionally strong women who represent themselves, their families, and Duke University with the utmost integrity. We unequivocally stand with and champion them, especially when their character is called into question.”
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