PROVO, Utah, Sept. 3, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — The South Carolina women’s basketball team has canceled a pair of games with BYU amid allegations of racism during a recent volleyball match at the LDS Church-owned university.
Longtime Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley announced the schedule changes Friday, including plans to replace the Cougars as their season-opening opponent Nov. 7 in Columbia, S.C. The two teams had been scheduled to meet again in Provo in the 2023-24 season.
“As a head coach, my job is to do what’s best for my players and staff. The incident at BYU has led me to reevaluate our home-and-home, and I don’t feel that this is the right time for us to engage in this series.” – @dawnstaleyhttps://t.co/sEdC2ApkIW pic.twitter.com/LZqpOGRrl9
— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) September 2, 2022
“As a head coach, my job is to do what’s best for my players and staff,” Staley said. “The incident at BYU has led me to reevaluate our home-and-home, and I don’t feel that this is the right time for us to engage in this series.”
Staley is referring to allegations that a fan repeatedly directed racial slurs at a Black player on the Duke women’s volleyball team during an Aug. 27 match at BYU.
The godmother of Duke outside hitter Rachel Richardson tweeted about the student-athlete’s experience at the Smith Fieldhouse, saying “she was called a [racial slur] 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,” Lesa Pamplin, of Fort Worth, Texas, tweeted.
Richardson later released her own statement, saying she and her Black teammates “were targeted and racially heckled through 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 environment.”
BYU athletics officials apologized to Richardson and Duke University, and the fan was banned from all university venues. A match between Duke and Rider at the doTERRA Classic the following night was played at an alternate location in Provo.
South Carolina Athletics Director Ray Tanner said it was Staley’s decision to drop the Cougars from the schedule.
“Dawn and I have discussed her thoughts on the situation,” Tanner said. “I support Dawn and all of our coaches in their right to schedule games and opponents that are best for their teams.”
The BYU women’s basketball team shared its disappointment in a tweet Friday, along with a link to an editorial from Athletics Director Tom Holmoe published Thursday in the Deseret News. Like BYU, the Deseret News is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
We are extremely disappointed in South Carolina’s decision to cancel our series and ask for patience with the on-going investigation. We believe the solution is to work together to root out racism and not to separate from one another. #LoveOneAnother
— BYU Women's Hoops (@byuwbb) September 3, 2022
“We are extremely disappointed in South Carolina’s decision to cancel our series and ask for patience with the on-going investigation. We believe the solution is to work together to root out racism and not to separate from one another,” the tweet states, using the hashtag #LoveOneAnother.
In the editorial, Holmoe says BYU football players in 2020 “chose to focus on the theme ‘Love One Another'” and notes the actions reported by Richardson were “the opposite of Christ’s call to love one another.”
Holmoe also details actions taken by BYU and Cougars coach Heather Olmstead to address the situation.
“When the complaint first surfaced, BYU head coach Heather Olmstead immediately took action. Four staff and a uniformed police officer were placed in the student section. They were later joined by an athletic administrator from Duke,” he writes.
“Coach Olmstead’s reaction in alerting event management staff was immediate and decisive. The crowd was large and boisterous but there were no observations of racist behavior.”
The fan was identified by a Duke player after the game and banned from all athletics venues, Holmoe writes in the editorial.
“Additionally, BYU has continued to carefully review all event audio and video in search of any racist statements or behavior. The game video is publicly available on BYUtv, and we welcome anyone who might have more information of any inappropriate behavior from the event to reach out to the university,” he continues.
Holmoe says he met with coaches and others in the athletics department about the incident, noting that BYU students and employees agree to “respect others, including the avoidance of profane or vulgar language” as part of the university’s Honor Code.
“They are united in taking any necessary steps when our athletic venues don’t live up to these ideals, including stopping play when necessary,” he writes in the Deseret News editorial.
“While some will try to define BYU by this incident, we will ultimately be defined by how we respond. The BYU I know and love rejects racism. … But that doesn’t mean I think we’re perfect. We can always improve. As Christians, as a community and as a country, we all need to address racism.”
