‘We told you so’: For Black athletes racism from college fans is a familiar story
‘We told you so’: For Black athletes racism from college fans is a familiar story: “I recall chanting stand up, N-words’ during the anthem and after. When told, BYU’s coaching staff showed no alarm.
In 2021, a Brigham Young University women’s soccer player and her teammates knelt for the national anthem to protest police violence. Four teammates verified the statements in a Guardian report last week.
After player complaints, a message was issued encouraging spectators to respect the athletes. Still, no further action was taken until BYU indicated this week it was reviewing the event after the Guardian reported it.
Statements
Rachel Richardson, a Duke volleyball player, said she heard racial shouts at BYU in August. Other Duke players told the Guardian that while they didn’t hear racist statements, they heard threats from “many tiny clusters, not one individual person.”
A fan was banned from all university games. BYU revoked the ban after reviewing video and audio recordings of the game and speaking to attendees.
One of Richardson’s colleagues told the Guardian that she wasn’t surprised others didn’t hear the same comments as Richardson because “most people on the court were filtering everything out or just hearing player names, the rest was noise.”
Despite the university’s investigation, many college players believe BYU has racist fans.
Considering BYU’s failure to address white supremacy and racism in 2021, it’s no wonder that fans in 2022 are using the same language to scare Black athletes, says Jordan Fields.
“I’m pleased coaches like [South Carolina’s] Dawn Staley have reconsidered competing in Provo. Competing against BYU in any sport threatens the health and safety of any Black player on a visiting squad.
BYU acknowledges its problem. In 2021, the institution reported that its students of color often feel “unsafe and alienated” owing to racism (less than 1% of undergraduates are Black). Colin Anderson, a former Vanderbilt football player, questions if BYU’s aggressive school culture leads to hostile athletic events.
Declarations
“The same kids who refuse minority students from parties yell in public,” he continues.
Some question whether BYU’s culture is changing. An anonymous Duke player says last week’s report of racism at the soccer game was “disappointing.”
“I read of another BYU incident,” she says. Why keeps happening? Why are coaches constantly astonished, yet alumni say it’s happened for years? The BYU athletic director took action after our encounter. Yes, he could do more. Changing culture is needed. Such news can’t be daily. Fans must no longer think this is OK.
Another of Richardson’s teammates, who also requested anonymity, said, “A culture that permits nasty actions to go unchecked is unacceptable.”
The Guardian asked BYU if its campus is hostile to Black athletes and if actions are being taken to rectify this. BYU’s assistant athletic director for communications and media strategy told the Guardian, “BYU will not accept racism in any form.”
BYU isn’t the only college with racist reports. They’re not new. Patrick Ewing was tossed a banana peel and taunted with racist signs in 1983.
Ernie Davis, the first African-American Heisman Trophy winner, couldn’t accept his award at a segregated post-game luncheon. In 1961, UCLA basketball coach John Wooden didn’t play any of his Black players in a second game due to racist heckling from white fans.
Marcus Smart, a former Oklahoma State standout, shoved a Texas Tech fan in 2014 after he called him a racist epithet.
The same year, Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner described being called the N-word many times. Jeremy Lin thinks the racist abuse he faced in college was worse than in the NBA, citing incidences at Cornell, Georgetown, Yale, and Vermont.
The sad list continues. Missouri’s AD accused South Carolina fans of spitting and making racist insults toward the women’s basketball team.
In November 2019, after Florida State’s loss to rival Florida, a guy posted a Facebook image of FSU coach Willie Taggart being lynched. In January of that year, Black basketball players from Labette Community College visited North Arkansas College.
A Wisconsin supporter made anti-Asian racial gestures against Northwestern this year and was removed. An Iowa fan once called a Wisconsin wrestler a racist insult.
Remarks
“Any underrepresented minority who’s played college athletics or been in a competitive space has encountered racially/sexually charged comments,” adds Anderson.
Abuse is so common that college athletes are expected to ignore it. Former Clemson football player and novelist Danté Stewart says, “We’re trained to block it all out when we’re on the field. Our color, gender, and sexuality are erased under the premise of ‘one team, one dream.'”
Players have recently kneeled during the national anthem to protest racial and social injustice.
Jen Fry, a social justice educator and former collegiate volleyball player, explains why Black athletes speak out more.
With so much racial abuse in an inbox, it’s hard to believe Black players when they describe what they hear in the stands. Athletes know they won’t be believed, labelled liars, or gaslighted that ‘they didn’t hear what they thought they heard.’ These athletes come forward despite what may be said about and to them.
Kaiya McCullough knows what she was told. “I experienced racism from college soccer fans, especially when kneeling for the national anthem. “People who watched my demonstration insulted me online, sometimes calling me a’monkey,'” she recalls.
Seth Towns was arrested in 2020 for protesting the police shooting of George Floyd.
He quickly faced “social media hostility” “I was called [the N-word] many times in my DMs, told to ‘go to my ancestral house in the woods,’ and other insane crap,” he continues.
Stewart continues, “When Clemson put Black Lives Matter stickers on their helmets, the response was more than outrage.” White anger. Not only them bothered. They displayed something deeper than irritation, almost like… Hatred, yes. Clemson athlete animosity was deep-seated because “we don’t do that.”
Anderson said, “We were told not to kneel during the anthem.” We changed our pregame schedule so players wouldn’t be out during the anthem. Our largely black coaches thought that was the greatest approach to protect us from the kneeling decision.
Anti-Black rightwing politics also contribute to fan racism, says McCullough. She argues Trump’s normalization of overt racism and dog-whistle politics has made these concerns more frequent. “The more entitled people feel to have specific racial beliefs, the more emboldened they are to communicate them,”
Stewart says, “It’s not enough to congratulate us at home or while watching the game, then criticize us when we protest.”
Disbelief when they report abuse exacerbates the agony caused by bigotry. Richardson was labeled a fantasist after BYU’s study.
Facts
She has no reason to go to a university where she’ll be in the minority and make up a racial slur claim. By implying she made up the tale, people are questioning someone with a track record of academic and athletic success, says Brianna Pinto, a former two-time soccer All-American at UNC and current member of the NWSL’s North Carolina Courage.
Letisha Brown, a sociology assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati who studies racism in sport, says, “When Black people and other people of color talk about racism, they’re typically labelled ‘too sensitive’ or accused of lying.” “Emotional work takes a toll, and putting the burden of evidence on the oppressed is cruel,” she says.
Racist abuse is a consequence of collegiate sports’ plantation dynamics, as white institutions profit from unpaid Black labor. Experienced players know it well.
“They regard college athletes only for their athleticism and treat them as useless, ” Fields adds. Black collegiate athletes ‘compete’ in a system where white supporters have high expectations and express unreasonable fury and hyper-criticism.
No players we spoke with were surprised by what occurred to Richardson and the visiting women’s soccer team because they and their colleagues throughout the country spent the summer of 2020 and beyond attempting to communicate that racism is a defining aspect of college athletics.
Pinto is frustrated by how these occurrences represent entrenched racism in collegiate athletics. “For too long, Black people have struggled for justice for centuries of racism,” she continues.
“I stand with Rachel Richardson and urge on the athletes, coaches, and athletics department administrators from both colleges to make actionable change. Believe Black Voices, Protect Black Players, and Embrace Accountability”
“Black athletes told you so,” says Fields.
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