Five women’s soccer players claim they heard shouts of ‘Stand up, N-words’ from BYU crowd

Brigham Young University has been hit with a new charge of racist remarks after five female soccer players from a visiting team reportedly heard the N-word was aimed at them.

The players claimed they heard the racist comments shouted at them and their teammates during a game at BYU in 2021.

The footballers were kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial and social injustice when they reportedly heard shouts of ‘Get up, N words’.

“I only remember there was a consistent chant of ‘get up, N words’ during the national anthem and immediately after,” one of the players, who remains anonymous, told me. The Watcher.

“And when it was brought to the attention of the BYU technical staff, there was no real reaction or sense of alarm.”

She added: “I felt disappointed, but not surprised. Slack for kneeling was not new to our group, but to hear that in person was shocking.

“I think both the fans and the coaching staff knew we wouldn’t cancel the game after the incident, which just goes to show that this could be part of a bigger cultural problem within BYU as an institution.”

The Guardian reported that four of the player’s teammates confirmed they had heard the chants as well.

The report adds that a sixth member of the team said he had not heard the chants, but the BYU coach was aware and appeared “appalled.”

The coach reportedly asked for another announcement “on how fans should behave.”

The sixth player claimed that the announcement had been made, but that no other action was taken “to the best of its knowledge.”

As the players of the visiting team wanted to continue, the game went ahead.

“Your question is the first time we’ve heard this particular concern,” Jon McBride, BYU’s deputy athletic director for communications and media strategy, told The Guardian.

‘[At] the match, which took place [in 2021]BYU responded to a concern from the [visiting team] about the reaction of fans when players knelt during the national anthem. A public announcement, similar to one made before, reminding fans to be respectful was repeated and the game continued.

“We are not aware of any additional concerns raised during the match or at any time thereafter. As we have stated, BYU does not tolerate any form of racism.”

The allegation comes a month after the college faced a new claim of racism involving a mob at BYU.

In August, Rachel Richardson, a black volleyball player at Duke University, said she and her teammates were made racist comments during the game.

Duke’s Rachel Richardson (right) says she was racially harassed during a game against BYU

After the game, a fan designated by Richardson and Duke employees was banned from all future BYU athletic events.

However, BYU released a report of an internal investigation of the fans in the student section and found no evidence of defamation, reversing the decision to ban the fan.

“As part of our commitment to take all claims of racism seriously, BYU has completed its investigation into allegations that racial harassment and insults took place during the Duke vs. BYU women’s volleyball game on August 26,” said a statement from the BYU Athletics Department.

Richardson says fans used the n-word repeatedly during the match, targeting her

“We reviewed all available video and audio footage, including security footage and unedited footage from all camera angles taken by BYUtv of the match, with the broadcast audio removed (to make the sound from the stands more audible) ).

“We also reached out to over 50 individuals who attended the event: Duke athletic department personnel and student athletes, BYU athletic department personnel and student athletes, event security and management, and fans who were in the arena that night, including many of the fans in the student area. on the road.

“From our comprehensive review, we have not found any evidence to support the claim that fans made racist remarks or made racist remarks during the event. As we have stated before, we do not tolerate any behavior that would make a student-athlete feel unsafe. That is the reason for our immediate response and our thorough investigation.

BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe spoke to students after the incident and told them racism would not be tolerated by the athletic staff

“As a result of our investigation, we have lifted the ban on the fan who made racist comments during the match. We did not find any evidence that that person carried out such an activity. BYU sincerely apologizes to that fan for the difficulties caused by the ban.

“Our fight is against racism, not against a person or an institution. Each affected person has strong feelings and experiences, which we respect, and we encourage others to show the same courtesy and respect. We remain committed to eradicating racism wherever it is found. We hope we can all unite in that important battle.

“There will be those who assume we are being selective in our review. Rather, we have tried to be as thorough as possible in our investigation and we extend our invitation to anyone who has evidence that conflicts with our findings to come forward and share it.”