Nor did they adequately address the situation immediately after the game, Rachel Richardson said in a statement posted to her Twitter account. “No athlete, regardless of race, should ever be subjected to such hostile conditions,” said Richardson, the only black starter on the Blue Devils’ team.
BYU banned a fan from all athletic venues on campus Saturday, a day after the game, and said the athletic department has a “zero-tolerance approach to this behavior.” The sports fan was not a student but sat in the student section. Richardson’s godmother, Lesa Pamplin, had tweeted that Richardson was called a racial slur “every time she served” during the match. He also wrote that Richardson was “threatened by a white man who told her to watch her back on the team bus. They had to get a police officer off their bench.” Richardson, a 19-year-old sophomore from Ellicott City, Maryland, wrote that she didn’t think the fan’s actions were a reflection of BYU athletes, saying her opponents showed respect and sportsmanship and that BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe reacted quickly as soon as was notified. “This is not the first time this has happened in college sports and unfortunately it probably won’t be the last time,” Richardson said. “However, every time it does happen we as student athletes, coaches, fans and administrators have an opportunity to educate those who act in hateful ways.” Richardson also responded to the idea that some people would like to see the Duke team respond quickly, such as by refusing to continue playing in what became a 3-1 victory for BYU. “Even though the concussion eventually took a toll on me mentally, I refused to let it stop me from doing what I love to do and what I came to BYU to do: which was to play volleyball,” Richardson said. “I refused to allow these racist bigots to feel any degree of satisfaction in thinking that their comments had ‘got me.’ So I went ahead and finished the game. “Therefore, on behalf of my African-American teammates and I, we do not want to feel sorry or to be seen as helpless. We do not feel like we are victims of some tragic inevitability. We are proud to be young African-American women; we are proud to be Duke student-athletes. and we are proud to stand up to racism.” Duke moved its Saturday game against Rider from BYU’s Smith Fieldhouse to a different venue in Provo, Utah. Richardson led the Blue Devils with three aces in the 3-1 victory. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
