“On Friday night during a game against Brigham Young University, my fellow African-American teammates and I were targeted and racistly taunted throughout the game,” Richardson said. Tweeted. “The slander and comments turned into threats and made us feel unsafe.”
“My goddaughter is the only black starter on the Dukes volleyball team. While playing yesterday she was called an***er every time she served,” Pamplin’s tweet read. I got
Richardson said 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.” Even after the incident came to their attention, Richardson said BYU officials “failed to adequately handle the situation.”
As a result of the harassment, Richardson and her teammates couldn’t focus on playing and struggled to finish games, she tweeted.
Richardson tweeted, “No athlete, regardless of race, should be exposed to such a hostile situation.
Richardson also addressed comments that she or her teammates should have refused to continue playing.
“The heckling finally struck me mentally but refused to stop me from doing what I wanted to do, what I came to BYU for, which is playing volleyball,” her tweet read. “I refused to allow the racists to take any measure of satisfaction in thinking that their comments ‘reached my heart’.
Despite the incident, Richardson said she did not believe this was a reflection of the BYU athletes. ” was shown.
“When student-athletes and fans come to BYU sporting events, we expect them to be treated with love and respect and to feel safe on our campus. This is why we have banned fans who have been accused of last night’s volleyball games from all BYU stadiums,” the statement said.
“We sincerely apologize to Duke University and especially to the student-athletes who competed for last night’s experience,” the statement said.
According to the statement, the person in question was not a BYU student, even though he sat in the student section.
“We should always have the opportunity to compete in an inclusive and anti-racist environment that promotes equality and fair play,” Duke said in a statement.
CNN’s Matt Foster contributed to this report.
