“As a result, my teammates and I had to struggle just to get through the rest of the game, instead of just being able to focus on our playing so that we could compete at the highest level possible,” Richardson said.
She said that the fan behavior did not reflect the conduct of her competitors, who she said showed “respect and good sportsmanship on and off the court.” She said B.Y.U.’s athletic director, Tom Holmoe, was quick to act.
The university is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In an opinion piece published on Thursday in The Deseret News, which is owned by the church, Holmoe said the university and its athletic department were “committed to zero-tolerance of racism” and would ban any fan using racist insults at its venues.
“Let me be clear where B.Y.U. stands on this issue: Racism is disgusting and unacceptable,” he wrote. “We have worked to understand and follow-up on Rachel’s experience with sincere commitment and ongoing concern. To say we were extremely disheartened by her report is not strong enough language.”
The B.Y.U. campus is predominantly white and Mormon. Less than 1 percent of the student population is Black, and many students of color “feel unsafe and isolated” at the school, according to a February 2021 report by a university committee that studied race on campus.
Black Menaces, a group founded by Black students at B.Y.U. that uses social media to discuss racism on college campuses, said they were disturbed by a “lack of action” from people at the game. “Out of the 5,000 people in attendance, no one had the bravery or courage to denounce pure racism,” the group said in a statement.