Following an exhaustive investigation by officials at Brigham Young University (BYU), it appears as though a female Duke University volleyball player may have committed another racial hate hoax.
According to the Western Journal, BYU officials noted in a statement posted to the university's social media sites that a fan had allegedly been identified who called an opposing black female volleyball player from Duke University, Rachel Richardson, the 'n-word' during a recent match. The announcement went on to say that the fan, who was in the student section but was not a student, had been permanently banned from BYU sporting events.
“When a student-athlete or a fan comes to a BYU sporting event, we expect that they will be treated with love and respect and feel safe on our campus,” the statement said. “It is for this reason BYU has banned a fan who was identified by Duke during last night’s volleyball match from all BYU athletic venues.”
Official statement from BYU Athletics. pic.twitter.com/5bIwXNwr7J
— BYU Cougars (@BYUCougars) August 27, 2022
Richardson claimed: “[I] was targeted and racially heckled throughout the entirety of the match. The slurs and comments grew into threats… Both officials and BYU coaching staff were made aware of the incident during the game, but failed to take the necessary steps… they also failed to adequately address the situation after the game.”
But within days of BYU issuing the statement, the Salt Lake City Tribune reported that things are not what they appeared to be, as BYU Police Lt. George Besendorfer told the newspaper that he did not believe at all that the fan identified as having yelled the slur was guilty of anything but buying a ticket.
“When we watched the video, we did not observe that behavior from him,” Besendorfer told the paper.
The Western Journal added:
Duke sophomore Rachel Richardson said she “very distinctly” heard a “very strong and negative racial slur” while serving in the match on Friday, the Tribune reported.
While BYU did not directly dispute the allegation, the university said the fan identified by Duke as the offender appeared to be innocent.
The school added in a statement: "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. As we stated earlier, we would not tolerate any conduct that would make a student-athlete feel unsafe. That is the reason for our immediate response and our thorough investigation."
BYU releases a statement stating, "we have not found any evidence to corroborate the allegation that fans engaged in racial heckling or uttered racial slurs" at a BYU-Duke volleyball match on Aug. 26.
BYU says it lifted the ban on the fan who allegedly uttered the racial slurs. pic.twitter.com/e6sJH5nbVH
— Mark J. Burns (@markjburns88) September 9, 2022
And of course, because BYU is a conservative-leaning institution in the red state of Utah, the garbage lamestream media all ran with the story as though it was gospel, with most not bothering since to print retractions.
However, one news outlet actually did do an extensive investigation as well: The BYU Cougar Chronicle, whose reporters spoke to dozens of people who attended the match, none of whom heard any racial epithets:
The Cougar Chronicle has been unable to find a source in the student section that can corroborate Richardson’s claim of racial slurs being yelled at her. Vera Smith, a BYU student in the student section during the game, said she “heard absolutely nothing” that could be taken as a racial slur. Jacob Hanson, also a BYU student, shared texts with the Cougar Chronicle from two friends in two different parts of the student section that also heard nothing. They said they were not aware there had been a problem until after the game. Maddy Johnson, another BYU student who was in the ROC student section, said she did not hear any racial slur said and when she saw the individual escorted out of the arena he was in a different section. A mother of a BYU student says she personally knows five people who were in the student section during the game “One person was on the court and the others were in the first row” she told the Chronicle. None of them heard a racial slur.
Richardson should be disciplined by Duke for filing what appears to be a racial hoax against BYU, but she won't be because she's a woman of color.
Meanwhile, BYU announced that the fan who had been ejected has been allowed back into the venue and issued an apology.
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