Months after Duke volleyball player Rachel Richardson alleged that she was
called a racial slur at BYU, the University of Pacific volleyball team pulled out of its game in Provo and elected to forfeit the match instead.
“The team expressed concerns following reports of racist and hostile comments during an August 26 match,” said Mike Klocke, Pacific’s senior director of communications. “Pacific stands with our student-athletes.”
During a tournament in August, Richardson said she was called the N-word by a fan in the BYU student section. BYU launched an investigation into Richardson’s allegations in the days after the match and
found no evidence that a racial slur was said. It also reinstated a fan who was banned in the aftermath of the incident and apologized to the family.
On Monday night, BYU associate athletic director Jon McBride called Pacific’s decision “unfortunate” and said the athletic department offered to meet with Pacific officials multiple times but were declined.
“We offered multiple times to have in-person meetings with a variety of administrators and coaches to speak through concerns, whether in Stockton or Provo,” McBride said. “We also offered to have our student-athletes engage in conversation together. Pacific did not accept any of these offers.”
