Cliff notes for those of you who haven't followed along too closely: During their recent match against BYU in Provo, a black Duke volleyball player named Rachel Richardson was allegedly called the "n-word" several times while she was serving.
This claim was made by Richardson's godmother, Lesa Pamplin, who herself has a lengthy and well-documented history of being racist. She is also running for political office in Texas, and is in the midst of a tense race.
BYU rushed to a quick PR move and issued an apology, and claimed to identify the man who hurled the racial slurs. However, there were cameras on the alleged perpetrator's seat for the duration of the match, and there were instances when he wasn't even in his seat at the time he allegedly used the racial slurs.
Richardson was also the ONLY person who heard this. No other teammate corroborated her claims (several of whom are also black), and even BYU basketball players standing a few feet away from both Richardson and the fan reported not hearing anything.
Now, BYU finally admits that they were wrong to rush into their actions.
Very good Twitter thread here that exposed this hoax a week ago.
Pamplin's history of racist comments on Twitter.
This claim was made by Richardson's godmother, Lesa Pamplin, who herself has a lengthy and well-documented history of being racist. She is also running for political office in Texas, and is in the midst of a tense race.
BYU rushed to a quick PR move and issued an apology, and claimed to identify the man who hurled the racial slurs. However, there were cameras on the alleged perpetrator's seat for the duration of the match, and there were instances when he wasn't even in his seat at the time he allegedly used the racial slurs.
Richardson was also the ONLY person who heard this. No other teammate corroborated her claims (several of whom are also black), and even BYU basketball players standing a few feet away from both Richardson and the fan reported not hearing anything.
Now, BYU finally admits that they were wrong to rush into their actions.
Very good Twitter thread here that exposed this hoax a week ago.
Pamplin's history of racist comments on Twitter.
BYU: No evidence to corroborate volleyball slur
A BYU investigation into an accusation that a Duke women's volleyball player was subjected to racial slurs during a match in Provo last month found no evidence, the school announced.
www.espn.com
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