BYU Fans Accused Of Making Racial Slurs AGAIN After Players Knelt During National Anthem
Sep. 30 2022, Published 11:48 a.m. ET
Brigham Young University fans have once again been accused of hurling racial slurs toward collegiate athletes, Radar has learned.
Five players on a women's soccer team reportedly were subjected to the N-word while they were playing at BYU in 2021. The slurs apparently came after the players knelt during the national anthem as part of a protest against racial and social injustice.
“I just remember that there was like a consistent chant of ‘stand up, N-words’ during the anthem and right after,” one of the players said. “And when brought to the attention of the BYU coaching staff there was no real response or sense of, like, alarm.”
The player said she wasn't shocked that such slurs came from fans from BYU.
“I felt disappointed but not surprised. Backlash for kneeling was not new for our group but to hear that in person was shocking. I think both the fans and coaching staff knew we wouldn’t cancel the game after the incident, which once again shows this could be part of a bigger cultural issue within BYU as an institution.”
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Four other teammates said they heard the chants as well. A sixth teammate, who reportedly didn't hear the chants, said the coach was aware of them and "seemed shocked and did ask" that “another announcement be made about how fans should behave."
An announcement to the fans was made, according to the sixth team member, but “nothing else was done to my knowledge," she said. The game was not halted because the visiting team, which was not identified by The Guardian, "wanted to continue with the game."
BYU officials did not appear to be aware of the situation.
“Your inquiry is the first time we are hearing this specific concern,” said Jon McBride, BYU’s associate athletic director for communications and media strategy, in reply to a request for comment. “[At] the match, which occurred [in 2021], BYU responded to a concern from the [visiting team] about fan reaction when players knelt during the national anthem. A public announcement, similar to one made earlier, reminding fans to be respectful was repeated, and the game proceeded. We are not aware of any additional concerns being brought up during the game or any time thereafter. As we have stated, BYU will not tolerate racism in any form.”
The allegations come a month after similar claims were made by members of the Duke volleyball team.