BYU interviewed more than 50 potential witnesses and reviewed all available game footage, the statement says.
Brigham Young University has completed its investigation into allegations that its fans hurled racial abuse at black members of Duke University’s women’s volleyball team, and concluded, after an “extensive review,” that there is not “any evidence to corroborate the allegation that fans engaged in racial heckling or uttered racial slurs at the event.”
In a statement provided to National Review, BYU Athletics described the extent of its investigation into Duke volleyball player Rachel Richardson’s claim that BYU fans yelled the n-word at her during an August 26 contest.
The statement reads:
As part of our commitment to take any claims of racism seriously, BYU has completed its investigation into the allegation that racial heckling and slurs took place at the Duke vs. BYU women’s volleyball match on August 26. We reviewed all available video and audio recordings, including security footage and raw footage from all camera angles taken by BYUtv of the match, with broadcasting audio removed (to ensure that the noise from the stands could be heard more clearly). We also reached out to more than 50 individuals who attended the event: Duke athletic department personnel and student-athletes, BYU athletic department personnel and student-athletes, event security and management and fans who were in the arena that evening, including many of the fans in the on-court student section.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 had previously identified a fan that the university said had heckled Richardson, and banned him from campus. The university now says that it has lifted that ban after finding no evidence of wrongdoing and “sincerely apologizes to that fan for any hardship the ban has caused.”
The statement also preemptively pushes back on those who will “assume we are being selective in our review.”
“To the contrary, we have tried to be as thorough as possible in our investigation, and we renew our invitation for anyone with evidence contrary to our findings to come forward and share it,” argued the university.
Richardson’s allegations against BYU’s fans had resulted in a reflexive outcry from many in the media who took them at face value. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith charged BYU with “dereliction of duty,” shouting in an on-air rant that “I’m saying BYU — you did it! By allowing this to happen and not addressing expeditiously, not addressing it with a level of quickness and speed that you should’ve addressed this with.”
CNN’s Jim Acosta introduced a segment on the incident by declaring that “a Duke volleyball player is speaking out after she and other black teammates were called racist slurs and threatened during a match against Brigham Young University on Friday.”
Elsewhere on the channel, Alisyn Camerota chided BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe for having only banned one fan, noting that “sophomore Rachel Richardson said she heard more than one person using racial slurs toward the black players.”
“What does it say about the BYU community and culture that this happened?” Camerota asked Holmoe.
South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley canceled games against BYU after Richardson levied her accusations against the university, saying “as a head coach, my job is to do what’s best for my players and staff.”
Duke’s athletic director, Nina Turner, issued a statement on Friday that did not accept the findings of BYU’s investigation.
“The 18 members of the Duke University volleyball team are exceptionally strong women who represent themselves, their families, and Duke University with the utmost integrity,” wrote Turner. “We unequivocally stand with and champion them, especially when their character is called into question. Duke Athletics believes in respect, equality and inclusiveness, and we do not tolerate hate and bias.”