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PROVO — Brigham Young University has lifted a ban on the fan accused of using a racial slur during its Aug. 26 volleyball match against Duke and apologized to the fan, the university announced in a statement Friday as part of the conclusion to its investigation into the incident and the school's response.
The university said it found no evidence to corroborate allegations of racial heckling against members of the Duke women's volleyball team, the athletic department said in a statement.
As part of the investigation, the university said it reviewed "all available video and audio recordings" of the event, including raw security footage, raw broadcast footage from BYUtv (with broadcast audio removed so that noise from the stands could be heard more clearly), and reached out to more than 50 individuals who attended the match from both BYU, Duke and others.
"As we stated earlier, we would not tolerate any conduct that would make a student-athlete feel unsafe," a statement attributed to BYU athletics spokesman Jon McBride said. "That is the reason for our immediate response and our thorough investigation."
The university also apologized to the fan who was singled out to have used a racial slur during the match. The fan, who has not been identified, was not a BYU student but was standing in or near the BYU student section during the match.
"Our fight is against racism, not against any individual or any institution," the statement read. "Each person impacted has strong feelings and experiences, which we honor, and we encourage others to show similar civility and respect. We remain committed to rooting out racism wherever it is found. We hope we can all join together in that important fight.
"There will be some who 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.
"Despite being unable to find supporting evidence of racial slurs in the many recordings and interviews, we hope that all those involved will understand our sincere efforts to ensure that all student-athletes competing at BYU feel safe. As stated by Athletics Director Tom Holmoe, BYU and BYU Athletics are committed to zero-tolerance of racism, and we strive to provide a positive experience for everyone who attends our athletic events, including student-athletes, coaches and fans, where they are valued and respected."
Duke athletic director Nina King released a statement after BYU published its findings.
"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," King said. "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."
The statement included the hashtag #HateWontLiveHere.
As part of its response, the university sent a BYU police officer and four ushers from events management into the crowd after the second set to attempt to find the alleged perpetrator of the slur. No fan was identified during the match, according to the responding officer in an incident report obtained by KSL.com via public records request.
Several prominent lawmakers and politicians, including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, were also quick to denounce racism following the severe allegations.
"After recent reported allegations of racism, I followed BYU's own statement and condemned the incident in the strongest possible terms," Gov. Cox said in a statement Friday morning on Twitter. "Subsequently it appears that neither the school, media, law enforcement, nor anyone else in the arena has been able to confirm these allegations.
"I will always speak out strongly against racism. I also believe it is important to step back and acknowledge new facts as they come to light and speak publicly about them as well. Part of that requires patience, something I could have done better in this situation. I apologize to the fan who apparently was unfairly singled out.
"I appreciate the exhaustive investigation and work conducted by Tom Holmoe and BYU and fully support the school in their efforts to resolve this matter."
Following the Cougars' 3-1 win over the Blue Devils, Duke sophomore Rachel Richardson, the only Black starter, alleged racial heckling from fans among the Smith Fieldhouse-record of 5,700 fans during the match Aug. 26. Richardson said that she and her Black teammates were heckled with racial abuse by someone in the BYU student section when she went to serve.
Richardson also said that at no point did she consider halting or protesting the match while the alleged abuse was taking place.
"Although the heckling eventually took a mental toll on me, I refused to allow it to stop me from doing what I love to do and what I came to BYU to do; which was to play volleyball," Richardson said. "I refused to allow those racist bigots to feel any degree of satisfaction from thinking that their comments had 'gotten to me.' So I pushed through and finished the game.
"Therefore, on behalf of my African American teammates and I, we do not want to receive pity or to be looked at as helpless. We do not feel as though we are victims of some tragic, unavoidable event. We are proud to be young African American women; we are proud to be Duke student athletes, and we are proud to stand up against racism."
As part of the university's response, BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe met with Richardson, head coach Jolene Nagel and other Duke athletics officials, and addressed the fan base the following night to delineate that racism will not be tolerated and urged them to more closely monitor their actions so that they don't "cross the line" at on-campus events.
"I ask that everyone at all of our games that represent BYU, that you will have the courage to take a stand and be able to take care of each other," said Holmoe, addressing a crowd of 3,678 fans before the match against Washington State, "and more importantly the guests, our guests who we invite to come and play here so that we can be disciples of Christ and show it in every way."
"As children of God, we are responsible. It's our mission to love one another and to treat everybody with respect, and that didn't happen last night," Holmoe added. "We fell very short. We didn't live up to our best."
BYU women's volleyball coach Heather Olmstead also reached out to Richardson to apologize.
"Racism in any form has no place at BYU, or anywhere else," Olmstead said in a statement. "I apologize for what the Duke student-athletes experienced during our match on Friday. We must do better. I have been able to have productive conversations with the student-athlete who was impacted the most Friday night, Rachel Richardson, the Duke volleyball team captain and the Duke volleyball head coach. They have helped me understand areas where we can do better.
"I thank them for taking the time to speak with me. I want the very best for them and the entire Duke team."
The university has also updated its fan code of conduct, which is read before every athletic event, to emphasize the need for fans and those in attendance at games to have good sportsmanship and also avoid any use of racial, homophobic or bigoted language. Fans who do not comply will be subject to immediate expulsion from the event, and any students could face academic disciplinary actions.
The student section has also been temporarily removed from a courtside section during home matches. Any permanent changes to seating/standings areas in the Smith Fieldhouse are still to be determined, a department spokesman said.
The 10th-ranked Cougars are currently at the Georgia Tech Classic in Atlanta, where they most recently lost to No. 5 Georgia Tech, 3-0. The next home match is Saturday, Sept. 17 against Utah Valley.
