Duke University sophomore volleyball player Rachel Richardson was allegedly called racial slurs while participating in a game at and against Brigham Young University on August 26th. Richardson graduated from Saint John’s College High School in 2020 and was Gatorade Player of the Year for Washington, D.C. in 2019 and 2020.

The incident was illuminated when Lesa Pamplin, a candidate for a judicial position in Tarrant County, Texas, tweeted, “My Goddaughter is the only Black starter for Duke’s volleyball team. While playing yesterday, she was called the n-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”. The tweet reached a larger audience when major publications began to pick up the story, CNN being the first with “Duke volleyball player Rachel Richardson’s father says his daughter was ‘afraid’ after being subjected to racial slurs.” CNN’s article outlines the most shocking element of the situation: both BYU officials and 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,” according to Ricardson and her father.

BYU Athletics and their respective student section released an official statement via Instagram on August 27th, sharing that the fan was not a BYU student, but seated in the student section, was banned from attending all BYU athletic events, along with condemning racism on their premises and apologizing to the Duke Volleyball team. The following day, August 28th, Richardson shared a personal statement via Twitter and Instagram, declaring that publicizing the incident was “neither my nor Duke Volleyball’s goal to call BYU’s athletics out but rather call them up. This is not the first time that this has happened in college athletics, and sadly it likely will not be the last time.”

This isn’t the first time in recent years that Black college volleyball players faced hateful comments on the road. On November 12th, 2021, Rainelle Jones, then a senior middle blocker at the University of Maryland, was called racial slurs at the University of Nebraska while kneeling during the national anthem in recognition of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Jones quickly took to social media, where she expressed her disdain and continued hope for change in today’s society. Regarding the BYU situation, Jones has also supported Richardson and shared her take on being actively anti-racist in relation to the heckling Richardson faced.

Brigham Young University is one of the most predominantly white institutions in the United States, with about 81% of the 36,000 students identifying as white. This percentage is astounding when compared to the less than half of a percent of students identifying as Black. BYU is located in Provo, Utah, which is known for having many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, more commonly referred to as Mormons.The population of the university is reported to be 98.5% Mormon. According to Niche.com, 86% BYU students would classify the political beliefs of the campus at large to be conservative. 

BYU soon launched an internal investigation into the situation, releasing its outcome on September 9th. “As part of our commitment to take any claims of racism seriously, BYU has completed its investigation into the allegation that racial heckling and slurs took place at the Duke vs. BYU women’s volleyball match on August 26. […] From our extensive review, we have not found any evidence to corroborate the allegation that fans engaged in racial heckling or uttered racial slurs at the event.” BYU also interviewed more than 50 individuals who attended the event including Duke and BYU athletic staff and fans alike, as well as security and management at the game. “BYU sincerely apologizes to that fan for any hardship the ban has caused.”

BYU’s investigation leaves people to question what actually happened. There is a segment of the online community that thinks Richardson lied entirely or fabricated the story. Tracing back to the beginning of the situation, Richardson’s Godmother, Lesa Pamplin, judicial candidate in Tarrant County, Texas, was the first one to bring the situation to light. The theory holds that Pamplin was using Richardson’s fabricated story as a marketing strategy for her local campaign. Pamplin’s twitter account from which the tweet since went viral is now private.

The 2022 National Championship winning women’s basketball team of the University of South Carolina has since canceled their home opener versus BYU following the incident. Head Coach Dawn Staley weighed in on the decision, “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, and I don’t feel that this is the right time for us to engage in this series.” Other college teams, regardless of the sport or gender, have shown their support to the Duke Volleyball Team, especially Rachel Richardson, and are left reflecting on what to do if BYU is on their upcoming schedules. •