Duke professor, football player react to racist behavior at Duke-BYU volleyball game :: WRALSportsFan.com

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Duke volleyball player Rachel Richardson posted on Twitter that she was targeted and “racially heckled” during the Aug. 26 away game at BYU’s Smith Fieldhouse. On Monday, WRAL News spoke with Duke football offensive tackle Brian Parker II and professor Mark Anthony Neal about their reactions to the incident.

Show Transcript

NEWS COVERAGE. YOU CAN COME HOME. >> OUTRAGE AND CONFUSION TODAY AS TO WHY A FAN OF THE 2 BALI BALL MATCH YELLED RACIAL SLURS AT A PLAYER AND THEN IT TOOK HOURS OR EVEN DAYS FOR ANYONE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. THANKS FOR JOINING US. I’M DAN HAGGERTY. >> AND I’M LENA TILLETT. THIS HAPPENED IN UTAH DURING A MATCH AGAINST BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY. BYU FAN WAS LATER BANNED FROM THE STADIUM AS A RESULT. WRAL’S DURHAM REPORTER SARAH KRUEGER JOINS US LIVE ON DUKE’S CAMPUS WITH NEW REACTION FROM MEMBERS OF THE DUKE COMMUNITY. SARAH. WE KNOW IT IS THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS HERE AT DUKE UNIVERSITY. AND THIS IS WHAT A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE ON CAMPUS ARE TALKING ABOUT. >> NOW, AFTER THIS INCIDENT, DUKE AND BYU OFFICIALS, THEY BOTH RELEASED STATEMENTS. BUT WHAT MANY PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW IS WHY WASN’T MORE DONE IN THE MOMENT? AS DUKE VOLLEYBALL PLAYER, RACHEL RICHARDSON PLAYED IN A TENSE MATCH IN A PACKED ARENA. SHE HEARD AT LEAST ONE FAN REPEATEDLY YELLED THE N WORD AT HER. >> IN A STATEMENT SHE RELEASED LATER, SHE WROTE THAT SHE AND HER AFRICAN-AMERICAN TEAMMATES WERE TARGETED AND RACIALLY HECKLED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRETY OF THE MATCH AND THAT THE OFFICIALS AND BYU COACHING STAFF WERE MADE AWARE OF WHAT HAPPENED BUT DIDN’T DO ENOUGH . I THINK IT’S AWFUL. >> IT’S REALLY SAD THAT STILL GOES ON IN OUR COUNTRY. THAT. WE’VE GOT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. BRIAN PARKER IS A FOOTBALL PLAYER AT 2. HE SAYS HIS TEAM IS STANDING WITH THEIR VOLLEYBALL SISTERS. 2 THAT WERE TO HAPPEN. I WOULD DEFINITELY STAND UP TO DO SOMETHING IT’S ACCEPTABLE IN MY OPINION THAT I WOULD NOT STAND FOR THAT. I THINK I WAS SHOCKED BUT NOT SURPRISED. MARK ANTHONY NEAL IS A PROFESSOR AT DUKE AND THE CHAIR OF ITS AFRICAN AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES DEPARTMENT. >> HE TOO WONDERS WHY MORE WAS’T DONE IN THE MOMENT. IT’S ONE THING TO SAY THAT YOU’RE COMMITTED TO ANTI-RACISM, RIGHT? HAS JUST. >> RHETORIC. AS YOU KNOW, AS A NARRATIVE AS HE BEGINS THE FALL SEMESTER, TEACHING A CLASS THAT IRONICALLY FOCUSES ON THE IMAGE OF BLACK ATHLETES. HE NOW HAS ANOTHER EXAMPLE TO SPEAK ABOUT WITH HIS STUDENTS. UNFORTUNATELY, EVEN IN 2022, THIS IS STILL A TEACHING MOMENT FOR FOLKS WHO WOULD LIKE TO BELIEVE THAT WE ACTUALLY DO LIVE IN A POST RACIAL SOCIETY. YOU KNOW, THIS IS JUST YET ANOTHER REMINDER THAT OF THE CHALLENGES THAT THE AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THIS INSTANCE, SPACE ON A DAILY BASES JUST TO DO THEIR JOBS RIGHT TO DO WHAT’S EXPECTED OF THEM. >> AND TODAY I DID REACH OUT TO THE ATHLETICS OFFICE HERE AT DUKE TRYING TO GET AN INTERVIEW WITH THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR OR WITH THE VOLLEYBALL COACH THAT DID NOT HAPPEN. I ALSO REACHED OUT TO A NUMBER OF PEOPLE AT BYU, INCLUDING THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR AND THE STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT. NO ONE RESPONDED. >> IT’S PRETTY REMARKABLE. SHE WAS ABLE TO FINISH THAT

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