Utah women’s basketball coach Lynn Roberts said her team experienced a series of “racial hate crimes” during the NCAA tournament and was forced to change hotels due to security concerns.
The Utah team plays in Spokane, but due to a lack of hotel space in the host city, they live about 30 miles away in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
Roberts wouldn’t go into details, but said several incidents occurred after the team arrived in the Coeur d’Alene area for a game last Thursday night. However, Utah State associate athletic director Chamel Green, who is black, spoke with Utah broadcaster KSL on Tuesday and provided more details.
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Green said members of the team, cheerleading squad and school band were walking to dinner when a truck approached them, revved its engine and someone inside yelled the “n” word.
“We were all shocked, we looked at each other, did we just hear that? … Everybody was shocked — our cheerleaders, our students in the area heard it clearly and were stunned. ,” Green told KSL.com. “We kept walking and just shaking our heads, like I couldn’t believe it… I was numb the whole night.”
When the group returned from dinner, something similar happened, this time with two trucks revving their engines. This n-word is directed at a group of people again.
“I will never forget the sounds I heard, the terrifying noise the engines made, and [n-word],” Green said. “I’ve heard this sound every night when I go to sleep since I’ve been here… I can’t imagine we have to stay there and relive those moments.”
Far-right extremists have emerged in the region. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, at least nine hate groups were active in Spokane and northern Idaho in 2018, including Identity Evropa, Proud Boys, ACT for America and America’s Promise Ministries.
Utah State, South Dakota State and UC Irvine all live in Idaho hotels, even though Gonzaga is the host school because of a lack of hotel space in Spokane. Roberts said the NCAA and Gonzaga worked to move the team after the incident.
“Racism is real and it happens and it’s horrific. So for our players … no one knows how to deal with it, which is really frustrating,” Roberts said. “It’s terrible for our players and staff to feel unsafe in an NCAA tournament environment… This should be a positive for everyone involved. For our program, It should have been a joyful moment, but unfortunately the experience was met with criticism,” Roberts said.
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Gonzaga released a statement saying its top priority is the safety and well-being of everyone attending the event.
“We are dismayed and deeply saddened because we know what should always be an amazing visitor experience and that the championship experience has been compromised in any way by this situation because it in no way reflects the values to which we at Gonzaga University stand. , standards and beliefs,” the statement said.
Utah State’s season ended with a loss to Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Monday night. Roberts said the incidents impacted her team’s performance. “It’s disturbing, disturbing and unfortunate,” she said.
Utah filed a police report but has not received any updates.
