BYU Loses Women’s Basketball Series With South Carolina Over Alleged Racial Slur
Sep 2, 2022, 6:56 PM | Updated: 7:17 pm
Photo Courtesy of BYU Athletics
PROVO, Utah – The ripple effect of the alleged racial slur at a BYU Women’s Volleyball game is now carrying over into other sports in BYU’s athletic department.
In a Friday news dump before the Labor Day weekend, South Carolina women’s basketball announced it canceled its home-and-home series with BYU. The two programs were scheduled to play in Columbia on November 7, 2022, to open the upcoming season.
“As a head coach, my job is to do what’s best for my players and staff. The incident at BYU has led me to reevaluate our home-and-home, and I don’t feel that this is the right time for us to engage in this series.” – @dawnstaleyhttps://t.co/sEdC2ApkIW pic.twitter.com/LZqpOGRrl9
— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) September 2, 2022
BYU would host the Gamecocks in the 2023-24 season.
South Carolina is the defending National champion in women’s basketball. Head coach Dawn Staley issued a statement on the cancelation of the series.
“As a head coach, my job is to do what’s best for my players and staff. The incident at BYU has led me to reevaluate our home-and-home, and I don’t feel that this is the right time for us to engage in this series.”
South Carolina said they would be searching for another opponent to replace BYU.
BYU women’s basketball issued a statement on Friday night in response to South Carolina’s decision.
“We are extremely disappointed in South Carolina’s decision to cancel our series and ask for patience with the on-going investigation. We believe the solution is to work together to root out racism and not to separate from one another. #LoveOneAnother.”
We are extremely disappointed in South Carolina’s decision to cancel our series and ask for patience with the on-going investigation. We believe the solution is to work together to root out racism and not to separate from one another. #LoveOneAnother
— BYU Women's Hoops (@byuwbb) September 3, 2022
The cancelation of the BYU-South Carolina series comes one week after Duke Volleyball player Rachel Richardson alleged BYU fans hurled racial slurs at her during a game at BYU’s Smith Fieldhouse.
An individual who Duke identified and brought to BYU’s attention as saying the slur has since been banned by BYU. Since that night at the Smith Fieldhouse, multiple reports have indicated that BYU Police Department has found no proof of the racial slur being said during the contest.
Richardson has since said in an interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe that she “didn’t want to group BYU altogether in a negative light.”
Former BYU coach Jeff Judkins scheduled the BYU-South Carolina women’s basketball series. After Judkins retired, BYU hired first-time head coach Amber Whiting to lead the program that earned a 6-seed last year in the NCAA Tournament.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
