Volleyball yet again finds itself back in the national news, after racial slur allegations and transgender players put the sport in headlines across America.
BYU’s women’s volleyball team has yet again fallen under scrutiny due to an event in late August of this year.
Following a home match against the Duke Blue Devils, BYU fans were accused of shouting obscenities and racial slurs at the black Duke player.
BYU immediately banned the fan who was said to have hurled the hurtful words but unbanned him after an investigation into the matter, in this statement.
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.
As a result of our investigation, we have lifted the ban on the fan who was identified as having uttered racial slurs during the match. We have not found any evidence that that individual engaged in such an activity. BYU sincerely apologizes to that fan for any hardship the ban has caused.
There you have it. For us sensible folks, that should be a clear end to the matter.
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An accusation was made, an investigation took place, and due process found the fan was innocent.
Somehow, this wasn’t enough for rival fans as they hurled obscenities back at BYU players and fans during the school’s away football game against the Oregon Ducks.
Of course, no outrage came of the Oregon fans chanting “F*** the Mormons.” Such outrage is only reserved for a select few protected classes.
Now, the University of the Pacific has decided to forfeit its match against BYU, which was scheduled for November 10.
Pacific’s Senior Communications Director released this statement yesterday.
The volleyball team has decided to not play the November 10 game at BYU. The team expressed concerns following reports of racist and hostile comments during an August 26 match. Pacific stands with our student-athletes.
So now unfounded accusations are grounds for forfeiting a match in the NCAA?
What happened to following the evidence and seeing where it leads?
The believe-all-victims-crowd is, yet again, showing that they are willing to completely ignore facts when an accusation of racism is made.
In their statement, BYU ensure players and fans that the priority for the school was to protect players, both BYU players and those from opposing schools.
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.
This, apparently, was still not enough for the University of the Pacific. A University should be training its students to dissect facts and look at matter such as this objectively, but it is clear that there is no such teaching at Pacific.
By: Goose