CNN
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Duke volleyball player Rachel Richardson’s father said his daughter was “scared” and called him in tears after she was racially abused during a game against Brigham Young University on Friday.
Richardson, who is Black, is a sophomore outside hitter for Duke. She tweeted a statement Sunday, explaining that she wasn’t the only player who was the target of racial slurs and heckling at BYU’s Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, Utah.
“Friday night in our game against Brigham Young University, my African American teammates and I faced targeted and racial harassment throughout the game,” Richardson tweeted.
“The insults and comments turned into threats that made us feel unsafe.”
In a statement Saturday, Nina King, vice president and director of athletics at Duke University, cited “extremely unfortunate circumstances” at BYU’s Friday game as the reason for changing the location of a Saturday game. In the statement, King said student-athletes should be able to compete in “an inclusive, anti-racist environment.”
While watching the game on TV at the Richardson family home, Marvin Richardson said he had “no idea” what happened during the game, but his daughter explained her experience to him at length afterwards.
“After the game we have [Rachel and I] always talk and she called but that was a different call,” Marvin told CNN’s New Day. “She was crying, she was upset and Rachel isn’t the person to call and cry about a loss, it’s just not who she is.
“So we knew something was wrong and then she first started telling us what was going on and what had happened during the game [we felt] Anger, outrage and then just a genuine need to make sure something is done to right what has happened to us.”
BYU apologized via Twitter on Saturday but did not confirm the details of the incident and announced that it had banned a fan from all sports venues. According to the statement, the fan was not a BYU student but sat in the BYU student department.
Richardson said in a statement Saturday that both BYU officials and coaching staff were made aware of the incident during the game, “but failed to take the necessary steps to stop the unacceptable behavior and provide a safe environment.” .”
Even after being made aware of the incident, Richardson said BYU officers “did not adequately address the situation,” a sentiment echoed by her father.
BYU women’s volleyball was not immediately available for comment.
“No student-athlete should enter a venue and be exposed to such an atmosphere,” said Marvin Richardson.
“When you’re the home team you want a loud crowd, that’s fantastic, but when it pushes that limit it’s the responsibility of those in charge to ensure the atmosphere stays safe and free of elements like that that would people prohibit playing at the highest level.
“What I would like to see going forward is that we make every effort to ensure these venues are safe and free from this type of action and if it interferes that it be removed – immediately. I’ve been to places where coaches have taken a mic and said, “Stop it. If you don’t make it, we’ll throw you out of here.”
“That’s an action you can take immediately, stop it while it’s happening. That didn’t happen and I think there’s always more we can do.
“We’ve been in volleyball for 30 years, I have four daughters who played the game, we’ve always had that occasional jerk who’s just there in the crowd but never had an atmosphere like this where she said she is afraid. ”