The University of South Carolina women’s basketball team is looking for a new opponent for its November 7 season opener after canceling its home-and-home series against Brigham Young University.
According to head coach Dawn Staley, the decision comes on the heels of a racial incident involving a Duke volleyball player at a BYU game last week.
“As a head coach, my job is to do what’s best for my players and staff,” said coach Staley in a statement about the decision. “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.”
Duke volleyball player Rachel Richardson and other Black players were subjected to racial heckling throughout last week’s volleyball game. “The slurs and comments grew into threats which caused us to feel unsafe,” Richardson tweeted.
Richardson accused the school of not acting fast enough to remedy the situation. BYU issued an apology the following day, saying a fan was banned. An investigation into the harassment, as well as how the school responded, is still ongoing.
BYU said it is “extremely disappointed” in South Carolina’s decision not to play against them in November.
“We are extremely disappointed in South Carolina’s decision to cancel our series and ask for patience with the ongoing investigation,” said the BYU women’s basketball team in a tweet. “We believe the solution is to work together to root out racism and not to separate from one another. #LoveOneAnother.”
